Merry Christmas! =]

DAY EIGHT: A MOMENT.

When I was little, I often spent time with my grandparents, affectionately known as Mom and Pap Pap. When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, Mom (the aforementioned Mom) took me on a hunt to retrieve a solitary Christmas tree branch in order to mail it to Uncle Paul - or maybe it was Uncle John... Either way, it was a super important mission and I was excited, because the thought of Christmas, even way back then, made me exorbitantly happy. When we arrived on the site of the Christmas tree vendor, we realized that they were closed for some reason. Since we traveled all of only 5 minutes away from the house, instead of going back, Mom decided to coax me to jump the fence and retrieve a branch I deemed acceptable.

Bear in mind, this Christmas tree vendor was in the middle of a field, fenced off, and on the main road that is Hancock Bridge Parkway. Mom, my sweet grandma, wanted me to break the law, which at the time and moment was a big deal for me, because I was terrified of going to jail. She had to help me get over the fence, but once over, I ran towards the tent and searched for a tree I liked. The trees were all sappy and obviously shedding while I attempted to tear off a branch. After what felt like an eternity, I rushed towards Mom with this branch in my hand with a wide happy grin on my face. Mom praised me for being so good and getting her a branch. I was so elated with praise that the illegal activity and the adrenaline kick delayed my reaction to the sticky sap and ants crawling all over my hands. It wasn't until I got back in the car that I fully realized the consequences for my actions; I had to deal with the sap and ants nipping at me the entire 5 minute ride back home, which didn't feel long getting to the tent, but going back felt like hours away.

As Mom helped me clean my hands and rubbed ointment on them, she kept telling me that I saved Christmas for my Uncle. It's always been a tradition for Mom to send him a Christmas tree branch as a way of bringing Christmas to him when he's away from the family. Looking back, I question why no one was at the tent during mid afternoon and how no one felt the need to tell us we weren't supposed to be snooping around in there. If I wasn't a young child, I would have taken a whole tree if I could have. However, at the same, my narrow mind could only handle one task: saving Christmas with a single branch of pine.