There are certain rites of passage that one must experience as an active senior citizen in this US of A. You first sign up for the AARP because you want to become aware of what’s going on in Washington and elsewhere. Then, it gets serious when you become a card-carrying Medicare enrollee. After that, comes Downsizing and Volunteering. This holiday season we took the next step, the Artificial Christmas Tree.
For a number of years we heard the comments. ‘Everyone said’ that a real tree was simply too much of a hassle. Think of all the effort and strain involved. You have to - go to the lot, tie it to the car, get it off the car, fresh cut the base, set in water, set it into the stand, move it into the house, fill the base with water, clean up the needles, trim the odd branches, string the lights, and keep watering it throughout the season. As you get older, all of this hassle will become too much and you will simply have to change to an artificial tree.
We heard this advise for years, and gleefully ignored it. We’ve always had a real tree and cherish those memories - going to the tree lots of the church or Boy Scouts, then making the expedition to the tree farms with the kids and chopping our own, going to the tree farms with the dog when the kids were older, scaling back to the convenience of trees from a chain store. But the trees were real. The scent pervasive. We were proud to host the Balsams, Scotch Pines, Douglas firs, Frasers, and Nobles. It meant that the season had truly arrived.
Convinced that sooner or later we had to make the change, this year we faced this next rite of passage. We went out and bought a poly-something tree. Frankly, I was a bit embarrassed when I checked out at the register. I threw the box into the trunk of the car since there was no need to tie it on. Then, brought it home, set it up, spread out each little ‘branch’, plugged it in, and . . . Viola! Instant Christmas.
We brought in some pine branches to add a bit of scent, but I feel a bit less authentic this year. It is easier. It has a perfect shape. There is no need to water, but . . . somehow, I miss the hassle. I’m not sure I was ready for ‘easier’.
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