On the eve

My dad and I bought a Christmas tree on Saturday. Yes, we realize Christmas is tomorrow. And we realize that we bought our tree three days before Christmas. But this is what we do every year. We wait until the last minute and then buy the tree for really cheap and consequently end up with a tree that isn't all dried out from the heat inside the house by Christmas Eve. I also can't decorate the tree without my sister, so waiting until she gets home is required. It works out well for all.

We had opted to just use the little artificial tree this year, as we were getting down to the wire and didn't feel much like buying a tree. We typically get a little Charlie Brown around Christmastime. I think it's because buying a tree and everything else to do with Christmas, the Stuff You Have to BUY things, really get us down. They bother my dad because he never financially prepares for Christmas. They bother the rest of the family because the rest of us couldn't care less if we have gifts or holiday whatnot and would really prefer to go without them if it would put Dad in a better mood. Usually, I don't remember what I receive from year to year, so it seems silly to get worked up about gifts.

Anyway, we planned to just use the artificial tree, the backup. And the backup is missing a few pieces which have vanished into the attic in the four or so years since we last used it. So, Dad and I bought a six foot Frasier fir which the guy at the nursery said was about a four foot tree.

On the way to buying the tree, my dad apologized for not feeling very Christmasy, as is his custom. I said it's hard to feel Christmasy without a tree. He said it's hard to feel Christmasy when one hasn't got much money.

And I found that horribly off-putting. I just stared at him and said, "Um, a feed trough and some shepherds? Ring a bell?" And he hugged me. And that is one of those rare father-daughter moments my dad and I don't have much anymore because we're always running in opposite directions and working like fools.

We were in much better moods the rest of the day. And I kept thinking of something JenA wrote on her blog the other day. She wrote that her favorite thing about Christmas is Christmas Eve:

"Because Christmas Day is like, 'We've arrived, we can breathe,' but Christmas Eve is about quiet anticipation. We know the biggest moment in our history as people of God is about to happen, the way Mary and Joseph kind of knew. But they had to be quiet about it, so God made the announcement with the things He created."

And I like that. And I think it's right on. And even if I have to make another trip to Costco before this day is over, I'm going to be thinking of living on the brink of the biggest moment in my history while I do it.