There are certain days each year that help us to mark the passage of time, to notice the growing and changing of our family, to remind us to pause and remember. The day after Thanksgiving, the day we find our Christmas tree, is such a day for our family.
We began this tradition when my oldest was the age of my youngest, when she made the trek with us out of the city to a lovely Christmas tree farm and helped us to select our perfect tree while riding in the same baby carrier that my infant now sits in.
On today's walk through the woods at the tree farm, we passed the lot from which we selected that first family tree four years ago. The lot is now filled with baby trees that grow and change each year, waiting for the time when they will be old enough for picking. Like these baby trees, my little ones are ever-changing, still years away from adulthood and yet so quickly growing up.
At last we arrive at the mature tree lot and take our time finding this year's perfect tree. Each year we say that our tree is better than the last. And maybe it is. Maybe each year is even better than the last...
If your family is selecting a Christmas tree this year, I highly recommend two books that we enjoy in the days leading up to finding and cutting our tree: Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell, and Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray.
