My Christmas Tree

Perfect little tree, seems to have been made for the spot. And it's recycled! Or rather, reused. Found it by the dumpster near the recycle bin when I was moving out of my apartment many months ago, apparently cast off by its previous owners due to...what...not fitting in the moving van? Lights still on it and everything. Works beautifully. All I need is a topper. Must go a on a quest for the perfect one. I found awesome stocking hangers this weekend...will post photo soon.

This is my first Christmas tree since 2000. Have I regaled you with this tale of woe before? Picture it: I'm on winter break, the tree has seen better days (it was a real one), and I decide to take off the decorations and haul it down to where it will be picked up for woodchipping. It's not terribly heavy, what with all the moisture being gone, but it's bulky. It was a very wide-bottomed tree, but I'd chosen it for its perfect isosceles shape. (My word, how many times can I say the word "perfect" in one post??) Anyway, I'm carting it down the stairs, getting poked by all the dry little needles, and I'm almost to the bottom, in fact I think I'm at the bottom, so I go to take that last step...except it wasn't the last step, it was the second-to-last step, and I twisted my ankle something fierce. I managed to drag the tree over to the pick up spot, hopping on one foot, and then go back upstairs to nurse my wounds. When it started to swell and not feel any better, I called my dad, and he came over to check it out. We agreed I should go to the doctor. If I recall, we waited until the next day, and he took me to my primary care physician to get a referral to an orthopedic guy (stupid HMO's). Got an xray, an sure enough, fractured fifth metatarsal, which is the long bone on the outside of your foot. Got a cast and crutches, a scrip for Vicodin (which did nada for me), and strict instructions not to drive, since it was my right foot.

This posed a couple of problems. First of all, I lived on the second floor of an apartment building, with no elevator. Not exactly crutch-friendly. So, I moved back in with my parents for a couple of weeks, until I could get a walking cast. Secondly, my dad had to drive me to work and pick me up. It was kind of fun, but also kind of like being tossed back into high school. Thank goodness his schedule was flexible enough to do that, though!

So I was teaching seventh graders at the time, and when I came back from break with a cast and crutches, it really threw them. Kids don't do well when things are different than what they're used to. I had to rely on them to pass out papers and set up the overhead, etc. They were really good about it, but man did they start rumors about how I broke my foot. Skiing, hangliding, you name it. If only it was so glamorous.

Anyway, that was the last time I had a Christmas tree. The following year I was in the same apartment, and was a little leery. After that, I moved to my condo and didn't really have a place to put one up. Since I spend Christmas day at my parents' anyway, it didn't seem all that important to me. But this year, with the tree practically falling in my lap and having the perfect spot to set it up, I just couldn't resist. It makes me smile every time I come down the stairs!