You might think that I am showing and/or telling something not current, but you'd be mistaken. (Admittedly, the picture was taken nearer Christmas. I have no idea who those people are, but it's my tree.)
You see, my tree is still up. It looks substantially the same. It's been up for a whole month, and given that it's a store-bought tree, I am amazed at its longevity. Of course, I got it a nice stand. I water it. When it first got settled in, I gave it sugar. I decorated it lovingly with lights and glass ornaments and an angel (that's an awesome angel, no?). And every year - when we remember - my husband and I give each other an ornament for the tree. This year, I got him a set of antique silver blown-glass balls (they're probably colored with mercury, actually*), and he forgot. I think one is visible in the picture. Last year, I forgot, but he got me a beautiful folk art glass ornament handpainted with the Madonna and child.
There's just one problem. I love my tree so. It's my first real tree (I've had an itty-bitty tabletop-sized one before, but that wasn't really big enough to decorate. And by real, I don't mean I had fake ones; I just can't love them, so I've done without in years I couldn't get a live one). And I don't want to let it go. It hasn't shedded much yet (and it's on a hardwood floor, so it's easy to sweep). I know I have to put it on the curb, but I can't bear to.
How do I say goodbye to my tree that I love?
*I don't go in for the "aren't we lucky we can do x we don't have kids" logic with any sincerity pretty much ever, but I admit to one exception: if I had small children, I couldn't have glass ornaments, and certainly not mercury glass. And I really like them.
