My family may be small, but it is rare for us all to be together on Christmas. Therefore, on this amazing occasion I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
We had the usual debate about buying a tree five minutes before we were off to cut one down. By the end of it we decided that plastic trees are wasteful and mass-produced Christmas trees are an environmental no-no. My dad was quick to note that he does not burn the tree after Christmas–it is placed in the yard to decompose (they live in the mountains where redwood trees landscape the backyard). With that said, we felt content to buy a tree from a local tree farm. This photo shows the tree we rescued from the farm. Do you think the angel is too much? I have to say that all of these rituals–buying a tree, decorating the tree, and opening presents beneath the tree are all centered around my nephew. Having children around puts me in the Christmas spirit. Without my nephew, our Christmas spirit would amount to drinking spiked cider and going out for Chinese food on Christmas day.
I am not sure how my fellow graduate student colleagues manage to do any work with a child around. I find myself intrigued by silly games, magnets, and reading 10-page books all day long. And the day goes by quickly with children around. When I read Belle’s post about her trip home it made me realize that I am guilt-fully neglecting my own work–that never ending work we do as graduate students. Oh well, it is only for one more day and I should enjoy it while I can.
That really does looks like an angel with a tree up her butt. However, the tree has now started on the slow process of feeding the earth…