the great real or fake debate

well, the christmas tree is up.  we have a fake tree.  i use to be ashamed of my fake trees, but now i have the most beautiful fake tree on the planet....so i'm not ashamed anymore.  well, i am a little....i have a strand of lights that are out.  and like everything else, do i really want to replace something that i just have to sell in a few months? not really, as i am a very practical person...so i will just have a strand of lights out.   it's a pre lit tree....thus the noticeable strand.

the fake tree was one of those marital compromises.  i had grown up with a fake tree for most of my childhood, where i seem to remember an ongoing "discussion" between my mom and dad over fake verses real....my dad seemingly the winner.  but as a teenager i recall real trees. well, real trees until my mom had this unbelievable skin reaction to something in the house which we eventually narrowed down to the real christmas tree.  since then they've been using a silver tree that has lights shining on it, and is quite another story for another day.

 anyway, when we got married, i was determined to make real christmas trees the tradition.  i had high hopes.  but i did not have the ability to carry heavy things....like, oh, say, christmas trees.  and randy was diabolically opposed to the real christmas tree.  something about needles on the floor and it turning brown and some other mumbo jumbo.  he refused.  and so, being the wonderful and submissive wife that i am,  i bought some horrible looking 5 foot fake tree for our first christmas.  and used it again for the 2nd.  and again for the 3rd.  finally we had hudson and i was resolved that he would experience the joys of a beautiful real tree.  i begged randy for days, and weeks, and eventually we made it to some builders supply place that was the only store in the county left with a real tree.  it was ugly.  it was short.  it was crooked.  it was not at all what i had hoped.  i vacuumed needles endlessly.  it took me forever to get a certain someone to get it out of my house once christmas was over.  it was very dead.  it didn't take apart into 3 pieces....so i could not take down by myself.  the choice was clear.  i either had to buff up and develop the muscle strength to both get my real tree in the house and back out....or i had to succumb to the fake tree fate that i was so obviously destined for.

i'm happy to say that 7 years ago, upon the purchase of my beautiful, 9 foot tall, pre lit tree.   i embraced the fake tree christmas.   there has been peace in our home.  there are no needles to vacuum.  i can take the tree down myself the day after new years......and i do.