Yesterday we got our Christmas tree. It’s getting harder to find the agaves sprouting tall trunks. We used to go out into the desert, take a picnic with us , hunt for our tree and chop it down. Now that we’re becoming a sprawling metropolis it’s slim pickings. Johnny tracked this one down at the Querdencia golf course and I think it’s the best one we’ve had yet.
Why an agave and not a pine? When we first moved here no one imported fir trees but we did have lots of agaves, think tequila, that would sprout a big stalk and throw out branches with beautiful seed pods at the end. Once this transformation from the mother plant takes place it promptly dies and the seeds blow away to start new plants. The shape of the trunk and branches are similar tothe traditional Christmas tree. We followed the local's lead and used this substitute and even now that we have Costco and several other stores that bring in truck loads of pine trees, I still prefer the agave.
The fun begins when we haul out the decorations. Each one has a story and we recite them as we find places for them on the tree. The hand quilted square with gold bells from Rosemary in Australia, the wooden soldiers from Cliff in Portugal, the sparkly Santa made by Carmen when she was ninety-three, the jouster with a heart tassles Johnny gave me for my birthday the first year we were together, the decorations Julian has made each year in school, Dopey and Sleepy with Santa hats that I bought in Disney World the year Julian and I went with Mom and Kathy, the miniature piñatas from Barbara in Spain, the ceramic dolfin with a wreath around his neck made by Cristina, and the teddy bear dressed in holly that I bought when I was pregnant anticipating the day Julian would play with it.
Our tree is laden with happy memories, and the spirit of the season wishing our family and friends near and far the same.
(if you click on the photo's you can see an enlarged shot and a closer look at our eclectic array of decorations)
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