Travelingjenny

Today we finally visited the Christmas tree farm down the road from us to choose and cut our tree. We can't help but think about and look forward to this day all year long, since we drive by the farm at least twice daily. We brought our sled so that we could pull Tess through the fields, and this year (thankfully!) she actually thought it was fun. This year we also were forced to traipse to the far reaches of the farm because we had a hard time finding a tree that was big enough. And then, out of the blue, another Christmas miracle occurred. Perhaps I was tired of pulling Tess all over creation, or maybe I had just given up on finding a tree that I was excited about. But after listening to our very grown-up six-year old grumble about not being allowed to choose the tree, I decided to let her do it. Now, I'm not sure if I should feel proud that I triumphed against my genetic predisposition to control the tree selection, or if I should be slightly scared that my oldest seems to have received the same gene. But either way, making her feel included — really included — made our little girl's day. It certainly is not the straightest or fullest tree we've ever had, but I think it's the most meaningful. After all, 'tis the season for spreading joy, right?