Christmas Do-Over

No one on earth loves a gal quite as much as her parents.  It's true.  Honestly.  It must be.  Because my Christmas tree this year was a TAD dry, and kept "tinkling" needles every time we walked by it, which made me cringe.  My dad, sitting on a chair in the living room, noticed my cringe when I walked by the tree.  Instead of saying "well, it's only three more days until Christmas.  It just has to make it that long, and then we can take it down and be done with it" (which is what I kept telling myself) my Dad who loves me said "well, if it bothers you so much, we should just get a new tree."  WHAT???  A NEW TREE??  Three days before Christmas?  All that work, just for three days???  And then Dad mentioned the idea to Mom, who... instead of being the voice of reason and telling him to just wait an additional three days, then we could take the tree down and be done with it (as I was telling myself) said "yes!  Let's undecorate this tree, find a new one out in the woods, drag it into the house, and redecorate the whole thing from scratch!"  Or something like that. Because she also loves me.   SERIOUSLY PEOPLE???  THREE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS?????

There is not a Finlander in the entire Upper Peninsula who would be impractical enough to go through that much work that close to Christmas, just because their daughter's tree was dry and cringe-worthy.  But my parents love me.  And love Christmas.  And also, apparently, have a fear of extreme fire hazards.  Because get a new tree we did.  While Dad and the boys (who ARE practical Finlanders, and thought the whole idea of replacing it was NUTS) went out into the woods to find us a new tree, Mom and I undecorated the existing one.  By the time the decorations were off, the tree was literally just a bare stick.  That's how dry it was.  No joke.  Not a single  needle remained on that thing, it was so dry.  It would make the world's greatest bonfire on Christmas day, this tree.  And to replace it?  My family found an absolutely stunning thing, the perfect height and shape, that, once decorated, made me smile and beam and feel all warm-fuzzy inside.  NOW we're ready for Christmas - a perfect Christmas - because the tree won't be disintegrating any more. 

THREE CHEERS FOR INDULGENT PARENTS WHO DO CRAZY, IMPRACTICAL THINGS BECAUSE THEY LOVE THEIR DAUGHTER!!!