O Christmas Tree: A Story About Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions.

Those words conjure up memories of Christmas mornings as a child, excitedly awaiting any sign of movement from my sisters and parents, so that we could open presents together. A salty-buttery smell hangs in the air, as my Dad prepares eggs benedict in the kitchen. I can picture him standing over the stove, pulling a piping-hot sheet of perfectly-toasted English muffins out of the oven, while freshly-whisked hollandaise and hot poached eggs sit waiting. It was our holiday tradition to savor my Dad's eggs benedict every Christmas morning, before heading to my Grandma's house (conveniently located right next door) for Christmas lunch a few hours later, which always consisted of the same delectable pairing - lox and bagels. Straight-up New York-style bagels and cured salmon, which I imagine was similar to what my Grandma enjoyed growing up in the Bronx. This was a no-frills lunch, with simple condiments (onion slivers, capers, tomatoes, cream cheese) that I could count on every year. I found stability in those ritual meals we enjoyed together as a family every Christmas. When my Dad left, sometime around my 12th birthday, I couldn't help but grieve those holiday traditions, centered around food and family. They were such special memories.

In reflecting back on my childhood and what influenced me in positive as well as not so positive ways, I hope to develop meaningful holiday traditions that Ken and I can share with our kid(s) in the years ahead. I want to show Ruby the joy of shared experiences, and how to give generously and freely, without regard to whether a gift will be reciprocated. I also want to teach her compassion and how important it is to help other people, so that her world isn't centered on her own needs and desires.

I think it's tempting to want to do all sorts of 'special' things together as a family, especially around the holidays, but I want to create space where we can practice reaching out, rather than just inward. One such example comes to mind: When I was young, I remember how my mom took me to a couple of different places where we helped feed people in need. Families who were homeless, or down on their luck. We volunteered at a food bank once, and perhaps a church, and then an outreach center near the prison. In retrospect, I find that ironic since many times we could barely scrape enough money together to buy food for dinner each night. (We ate so much toast for meals/snacks, when we couldn't afford much else.) But my mother saw something that she could do - small ways that we as a family could reach outside of ourselves and help others, by serving platters of food, and took the opportunity to do so, when possible. Thank you for teaching me this valuable lesson, Mom. I think of those times, especially around the holidays. There are so many people in need, and I never want to turn a deaf ear to ways that I can help.

In sharing these stories, I noticed that the blog post I meant to write, about how we recently started what I hope is a new tradition, got sidelined. Without further ado, I introduce to you, our newest (hopeful) holiday tradition: the Christmas tree.

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Last Sunday morning, Ken, Ruby, and I headed out the door with our winter gear and a couple of cold ham sandwiches, and set out for the nearest hardware store. Our mission: to purchase a saw suitable for chopping down our very own Christmas tree, and to acquire the relevant $5 permit we needed to be able to take home that tree from the National Forest. We were successful in both those endeavors and after stopping for a quick coffee and nursing break in a neighboring town, we made our way northeast to the forest.

Despite the heavy rainfall, we enjoyed our drive through Eastern Washington's picturesque farmlands - the rolling hills of the Palouse, covered in wheat fields and dotted with red and gray barns, and found a real beauty of a tree: some sort of evergreen, simple, seemingly symmetrical, straight, and most importantly, not too tall, making it perfect for our current housing situation. Ruby was initially uncertain about the weather and the whole chopping-down-of-tree-thing, but once she realized that we were bringing the tree home, and then saw it in our house, I think that she warmed up to the idea.

Ken and I hope to continue this tradition in the coming years, as it makes for a great memory and doesn't cost much. This Christmas in particular, we are quite tight on funds, which has given us the unique opportunity to become even more creative in how we budget and spend our money.

It's safe to say that this experience was worth every penny, and more.

Here are some photos from our adventures!