This is not my Christmas tree, but I like it. It lives in a friend’s home, where I attended a party last Saturday night. This photo, and a conversation I had with my Mom just a short while ago, conjured up memories of a magical Christmas several years ago. I was a newly single mother with an infant and very little money. Times were very difficult for me not only financially, but emotionally, as well. At that time, I worked the swing shift at the hospital, and one night I came home to a decorated Christmas tree in my living room. Talk about a shock; the light switch nearest the front door also activated the Christmas tree lights, so it was the first thing I saw when I entered my apartment. I was so touched and overwhelmed, I wept. How? Who? Why? At that time, I did not know, I only saw a miracle. A Christmas miracle. No, I’m not being cheesy. I later found out it was my family’s doing, and I was humbled by it. I used that tree and the decorations year after year (even though it showed some wear and tear from a small child who shall remain nameless…), until I met and fell in love with a Jewish man who didn’t go for all the commercialism of the season, and especially not fake Christmas trees. That made me very sad, but at some point, as I was moving to a new apartment from that apartment to a new one with my new partner, the tree came out of storage, and caught the attention of a neighbor who did not have a tree. You see, as we were moving things out, some neighbors came by to see if they could help themselves to anything we no longer needed and didn’t want to move. The Christmas tree found a new home with that neighbor who didn’t have a tree. I was sad to see it go, but I didn’t know if I would be using it again, and it felt good to pass it on to someone who was also experiencing difficult times. In the spirit of Christmas, giving to others feels good. Even if it’s not Christmas at that moment.

P.s. No matter what religion you are, you can have a Christmas tree. They’re pretty, and when they’re real they smell good. Don’t ever let anyone prevent you from having one, if you want it!