The Christmas Tree & the Argument

Has anyone else ever had a family dispute while Christmas tree hunting? According to one family member, the tree another famiy member likes is too big, too small, too fat, too skinny, has an unacceptable hole here -- or there. You know what I mean. Anywho....since we spent last Christmas at the coast I wanted to keep things simple. I thought maybe we'd buy a little tree and decorate it with a beach theme (before I found out how outrageous the prices were for beach theme ornaments!) and then throw the tree out before we left. Nice and simple. Next on the list was a little tree decorated with ribbon and a few shells we'd collected on our beach walks nestled in the branches. We'd still be able to throw the whole thing out before we left. Nice and simple. No arguments. Maybe that could have happened if I'd just bought that little tree when I found it. Instead of waiting to show J.

You see, on some of my wanderings around the Gulf Shores area I spotted what were billed as Fort Morgan Christmas Trees -- like the one I have a picture of. That one's mine. (smile) Now. I want to ask you. Do you love it like I do, or do you think it looks like a wood pile (like J. does)?

When I first showed it to J. and told him that's what I wanted for Christmas, he asked me if I were joking. ?? No. I said. I told him it was made of driftwood from Fort Morgan (which we have to visit e-v-e-r-y time we're in Gulf Shores). He said....sure it is. He went on to say that the artist probably used driftwood from all over the island. He's very suspicious.

So....I said forget it, and thought that was the end of it. But, it wasn't. J. said he'd make me a tree like the one I wanted. (Remember, he does have a MFA, but still....) I said it was fine with me. I'd call it my Gulf Shores Christmas tree. On our walks he actually started collecting driftwood to haul back to BR and make a frickin' tree.

But in the end, for some reason, he surprised me by saying, "Let's go get you one of those Ft. Morgan trees." We found one and I really do like it. One time when I caught J. looking at it and shaking his head, I told him to think about the spirits of all the Confederate soldiers who had gathered round those pieces of driftwood on a drab, chilly Christmas. Maybe they sang Christmas songs to lift their spirits. (He poured himself another drink.)

Our Ft. Morgan tree did prove to be a problem when we left. We'd collected so much stuff during our month's stay that for a while I thought I was going to have to take a picture of the tree, dismantle it, and reassemble it at home. We looked like Ma and Pa Kettle driving down the interstate. But it was worth it. I plan to love my little tree for many Christmases to come.