Hug A Tree

Christmas tree lots depress the hell out of me. I drove past one today, and it was FULL of trees. They were bushy, lush, green, vibrant... and doomed. A small forest waited for adoption behind the fence. I wanted to cry. Christmas is only 3 days away, so you know most of those trees will stay put. What a waste! Then what happens to them? People tell me that these trees are raised on tree farms, so having them cut down after years of growing is the natural order. They were meant for slaughter. OK, I know I may be getting dramatic here, but it’s truly how I feel. I guess it’s the same as with animals who are raised to end up on our dinner tables. That also depresses me. Nobody is going hungry, though, if a Christmas tree is left standing in the forest. We haven’t had a real Christmas tree for at least 20 years. My poor kids don’t know any better. They probably think all Christmas trees come in a box. The last live Christmas tree I bought made a big mess and screwed up my vacuum. As instructed, I sawed off the bottom of the trunk and put it in water as soon as I got it home. That did no good, though, and by Christmas that sucker was dried out and turning brown. There were pine needles everywhere, and cleaning them up clogged the hose of my vacuum. So, in addition to avoiding Christmas tree depression, the use of a fake tree is much tidier. Win-win. I feel like I’m doing my part by reusing the same faux tree every year. I will try not to dwell on those poor homeless trees. I need to bypass that lot until maybe mid-January, just to make sure the bodies have been removed. Sigh.