Memories & Traditions

Our family had a lot of traditions when I was growing up in Hallsville, TX. One of my favorites was every winter, just after thanksgiving, we would go to get our Christmas tree. I had several friends that had fake Christmas trees, but I always preferred the piney woods smell that accompanied that fresh-cut Virginia pine. In the early years we would drive down to Wal-mart or Brookshires and buy one from their lot, but later Mom and Dad found a Christmas tree farm in Kilgore, and we started going there. I can still remember the fun we had as we would go out, get on the hayride, and set off in search of the perfect tree. Sometimes my best friend Jordan would go with us, other times it was just the three of us. I can still remember that on several occasions Mom and I would find the perfect tree within the first 5 minutes, only to have Dad make us walk around another hour looking for a better one, and then ending up back at the original tree that Mom and I had found. I always thought that Dad must be unable to spot a good tree when he saw it, and I promised myself that when I had kids, I would never make them walk around for an hour, wasting time, if we found the perfect tree so quickly! We would then cut down the tree, load it onto the hay ride, and head in to pay for the tree and stand around the campfire, drinking hot chocolate and eating peanuts. Then it was off to the house to set the tree up and spend the evening together as a family putting on the ornaments, lights, and tinsel. But to me the best part about it was going to cut it ourselves. The first Christmas after Dad died, Mom and I kept the tradition going. Although it was much more difficult, the memories were there and helped us through that first hard Christmas. The only years that I haven't had a real Christmas tree was when I was a missionary in Colombia, and even then we got a few branches off a tree and put some ornaments on it. It has been a tradition that we have kept in our small family throughout the years that we have been married, and now that we're back in East Texas we go to the same Christmas tree farm I went to as a boy. Everything is still the same, the hay ride, the fire, the trees. I even found myself making everyone walk around an extra hour, even though we saw the perfect tree as soon as we got off the hay ride ( I'm still a pro at spotting em'!) I have realized, as most grown up kids do, that dad wasn't tree spotting deficient, but knew that those moments with family were fleeting and wanted to spend as much time as he could with all of us. I only hope that our kids will continue the tradition to search for the perfect Christmas tree when they have families of their own one day. I am always reminded of our Savior at this time of year, and the great sacrifice he made so that we could enjoy those special moments in our lives. I am grateful for that, and for the memories that I have of Christmases past, memories made this year, and memories we will make in the future.