Suddenly Single Journey

Oh Christmas bush! Oh Christmas bush!

Author: thenicknick

So, we’ve been agonizing over what to do for a Christmas tree ever since the move.  Don’t get me wrong…we still had the pre-lit fake tree in the storage closet at the apartment.  It wasn’t that.  It was the logistics of it all…and the location.  Where in the world were we going to  put a tree in the apartment?

Well, the best I came up with was that we could take down the dining room table and use that space.  The kids were all for it…until I reminded them that we were a team and I wasn’t going to work alone.  Suddenly, big tree in the dining room was infinitely less appealing.  (It had never been appealing to me.)

And so we discussed our options one night while we were shopping for I don’t even remember what at Target.  The kids were really cute about it.  My suggestion was that we get something we could use again.  So, I was looking at some of the pre-lit ones that could go outside a front door…or on a patio…or be recycled any number of ways.  Rachel went straight for the gaudiest trees she could find, small ugly metallic things that I vetoed immediately.  And Keenan…didn’t really weigh in.  Typical Keenan.  He’s a roll with it kind of kid.  It’s a good thing.  I’m not sure we have room for one more opinion in our house.

Anyway, I did some negotiating.  And this is what we finally decided upon.  Okay…it’s what I decided upon and since I was paying and since they were doing a real tree at their dad’s and since my vote counts like three times…I negotiated a rosemary bush.  Yeah, I know.  It seems a little unconventional, but…so am I.  So are we.  And I sold Rachel on the fact that she loves rosemary and we would now have the first herb for the herb garden we both dream about.  And I sold Keenan on the fact that we could decorate it, just like a real tree.  And it was my idea so clearly I was already sold.

On Saturday, I bought the poinsettias from Wal-Mart.  Breanna helped me pick them out on our shopping trip.  They were so cute and cheap, how could I not love them?  (I prefer the white ones, but Rachel says they are more yellow and I wanted some peace on earth this holiday season.  Ah, the art of compromise.)  Then on Sunday, I bought the rosemary bush.  It was perfect as is, but it can be trimmed to be even more tree shaped.  And then we had a plan to trim it so it could be more Christmas tree-like.

The kids were…moderately excited to see and smell the new bush.  Then I told them what I had in mind for Monday night.  And then…we did it.  We painted mugs together at Dish it Out Pottery.  They are to be our Christmas mugs.  It was fun.  I’ll show you once they’re home.  And then we went to Target to buy some ornaments.  The ones we found are perfect.  There’s balls in red, burgundy, antiqued bronze, bronze with snowflakes, pearl, and silver.  We found baby candy canes.  And Rachel found us the ideal bush topper: a ceramic bird.  It was too perfect.  And I was really excited which would explain what happened next…

Suddenly Rachel is an expert driver.  Oh, but she doesn’t have a permit yet.  So, she was criticizing my driving.  And I maaaay have changed lanes a bit rapidly because we were rocking out to the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Carol of the Bells and I almost missed our turn…as usual.  Since she seemed a bit…unnerved…I drove more carefully the last five hundred feet or so.

Rachel: What? You decide to be careful now?  We’re so close I could limp home.

And then when I parked, she jumped out of the vehicle and kissed the ground.  Just for effect, I’m sure.  The girl is a drama queen.  I have no idea where she gets it from.

Anyway…we decorated the bush.  And while we decorated, all fifteen minutes, they were really excited.  So was I.

Rachel: This is our best tree ever.  This was a really good idea.  This apartment has been really good for us.

She’s right.  We’re healing here.  We’re happy.  It’s sparking our creative juices.  (And we were pretty juicy to begin with so that’s saying something.)  So, here it is, our Christmas bush.

Yeah.  I know it’s on the kitchen table.  I don’t care.  I love it.

Where will the presents go you ask?

Well, Ashley had a response to that one…

Ashley: Hey Mom!  Look what Santa left under the table!

I know that this isn’t for everyone, but it suits us.  It’s actually perfect for us.  And that’s what counts.  Don’t mock the bush.  We like it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 6:05 am and is filed under Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.