It's A Miracle Really

As you can see by this photo of our actual Christmas Tree, it's quite impressive that this thing has remained upright. And with only a few days left 'til Christmas, I beginning to think it might make it.

The true test was when we went away last Friday and returned Monday to find the tree still standing. I don't think you can truly appreciate how exciting a turn of events this was for the Mrs. and I.

Perhaps this picture doesn't do the tilt justice but believe me when I say that this tree is practicing it's "lean back" dance step.

And I can't say exactly what it was that has kept this tree upright. Maybe it was you, my readers, and your prayers?

Now Who's Faking?

So maybe the real tree wasn't the best idea. I'm sitting on the couch last night -- writing a marvelous story, mind you -- when I hear this pop. I look up and down comes the Christmas Tree.

It wasn't like I could jump up and catch it -- I had my computer on my lap and that wouldn't of been smart. So I had to sit there and watch the tree come down. Thankfully it didn't come all the way over, miraculously holding itself up a la Tom Cruise/Mission Impossible style.

I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to the re-align the tree in the tree stand by myself. Maybe we bought a crappy tree stand. Maybe we bought a crappy tree. I'm still not sure. But when I went to bed it was upright.

When the Mrs. came home this morning, it had toppled over again. While she went to sleep I spent another 20 minutes trying to get the tree straightened. Eventually I settled for some string to keep it in place...but it's at a very odd angle at the moment.

Does anyone have any ideas how to keep a tree upright in a tree stand?

Also, maybe the tree is drunk -- I did put a lot of water in it.

O Tannenbaum

Got a Christmas Tree yesterday. A real one at that. For years my family invested in the "fake" christmas tree. I forget why exactly -- maybe it was allergies -- maybe it was the cool thing to do. But this year the Mrs. and I got real. It's actually a nice tree -- has everything you would expect, really. It's green. It has branches. It has little pine needles. It has a bark. Did I mention it was green?

I'm not sure why people invest in the "fake" tree. There aren't many other things we invest in that are "fake", so why do it with a tree. Some people do like fake milk (read: anything other than 2% or Whole milk). Some people like fake butter (read: margarine). Don't get me wrong, a good fake tree is just as good as a bad real tree -- except that it's not real. It doesn't smell like a real tree. It doesn't have the potential to catch on fire like a real tree. It also doesn't drop it's needles like a real tree.

I'm not upset that my childhood presents were under a fake tree. It really didn't matter to me until this year -- when I was emphatic about not getting a fake tree. Though I'm still not sure of my reasoning other than I don't like fake trees. Is that a good enough reason?

The thing of it is: there's something to be said for those of us with the pluck to put hot lights on something that could burn our homes down. We are truly brave souls.