I Hate Christmas Trees

OK, I probably don't hate them, but I definitely don't like them. It's not that I'm Scrooge. I like decorating the house for Christmas. I just don't enjoy dealing with the tree because it takes so much time. I know it's because I'm a perfectionist, but that's who I am.

With that background in mind, you'll now better appreciate the agony I've endured the last few years. It all started two years ago when, the week before Christmas, the lights on our decorated tree went out. It was the year my son's father-in-law joined us for the holidays. He was visiting from South Korea and we wanted to give him an American Christmas. So, after checking all the bulbs and replacing all the fuses with no luck, we stripped the tree and bought a new one. And that means I got to decorate the tree twice that year. Oh joy!

And there was more joy the next year when the same thing happened, again. A week after decorating, the bottom third of the tree went dark and there was no fixing it. So, again, we stripped the tree and bought a new one. And, again, I got to decorate the tree twice.

That brings us to the present. Understandably, I'd been anxious about the lights on last year's tree possibly malfunctioning. But I needn't have worried because that tree never happened. Hubby brought in the tree box, attached the middle section to the bottom section, and then realized the top section was missing. What? Yep, the top of the tree mysteriously jumped out of the box and disappeared!

Seriously, we have absolutely no idea what happened to it. My first thought was the top didn't fit in the box, so hubby bagged it and misplaced it. But the box clearly has enough room for the whole tree, so that makes no sense. Nevertheless, we thoroughly searched the garage, basement, and storage shed. It's nowhere to be found.

So, today, we bought our third tree in three years. Our newest Christmas tree is now in the family room with all 700 lights twinkling. This weekend I'll add the decorations while praying it stays fully lit. And hoping third time's the charm!