The Little Tree in the Attic

A thought runs through my head this week like water over a log. It flows freely in and out rolling over my already crowded noggin' pushing all other precedents aside. I know that any time now I have to do something about it. The thought takes the form of actions resulting in subtle changes around the house, a red candle in place of a white one, a snowman place mat appears, and my cranberry and twig "Joy" hanging sign, or whatever it's called, pops up on the kitchen mirror. It's in motion. That's how it starts every year right after Thanksgiving. I don't know how to stop it, so I just roll with it.

I run into town to the bank, and my car pulls into Big Lots after making my Midtown deposit. I stroll through the already picked over Christmas collection and find that green candle I need for the fireplace. Did I say need? I buy it and some cereal I hadn't planned on getting and head back to the house. I decide to stop off for a bean burrito at Taco Bell, but I don't have even .99 on me, and I refuse to use a credit card for one bean burrito, so I head home with my new purchase, my stomach growling.

The thought really plagues me now, and a new momentum sets in. I pull out the wooden manger with the glass characters and set it up along with several of my Christmas figurines. Baby Jesus is still sleeping just like last Christmas as Mary watches closely by. I put her a bit closer to Joseph and go to the hallway.  I start pulling boxes out of the storage closet opening them as if they hold hidden treasure when I hear a sound in the attic. It compels me to go into the garage and pull the string on the attic door. The stairs drop down.

It's all over now. I climb the stairs and there it is, waiting patiently in the attic, all scrunched and  bound in a cardboard box. It's the little tree in the attic, the palate for my hanging treasures I've saved through the years. It's neither fancy nor formal. It's comfortable. Welcome back downstairs little tree. And now I can think about something else.

So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. Luke 2:16

Peace. Love, Linda