My Father's Legacy

As Lee and I have struggled over the size of our Christmas tree (and how big it will or will not be next year), I realize that one of the reasons I love a huge tree is because the girls - especially Elizabeth - love telling people about our tree.  My childhood friends remember well that I dragged them to my parents' house every December to view our tree - which was usually square (my Dad just kept cutting off the top until the tree squeezed in!) and wired to the wall so that it wouldn't topple over.  As I got older, the tree got bigger and bigger and while my dad and I were getting it in the house and in the stand, my mother inevitably ended up crying (that's the road Lee is headed down, I'm quite sure of it).  And I used to go to other people's houses and tell them that their tree was "nice" but that they really ought to stop by my parents' house to see the real deal....This weekend, when we were picking up party supplies from Sarah, Rohan and Debby, Elizabeth told them that their trees were nice, but that they should come to our house to see our tree - in fact, I think she said "ours is bigger."  And I silently cheered - and thanked my dad for passing on to me the "tree gene" so that I could pass it on to our girls.  I love that they love to show it off, I love their excitement.  Thanks Dad.