My first mistake was being in a hurry.

I wanted to pick up a Christmas tree so my son’s girlfriend could decorate it. Ingrid’s from a different country, and decorating a Christmas tree would be a new experience for her.

I’ve learned to check the bottom trunk of the tree first. If it’s too thick, it won’t fit in the stand. If the bottom of the tree is crooked or too wide, the tree won’t stand straight in the stand.

I saw a tree that seemed tall enough, the trunk was straight at the bottom, and it was half price.

Sold.

I got the tree home and my husband said he’d get it in the stand while I went to the grocery store.

When I got home, he was immediately apologetic. He’d moved the furniture around and the tree was in the stand by the window, right where we always put it.

“I did everything to make that tree look straight, but there’s only so much I can do with what you got,” he said.

“The trunk was straight, I looked,” I said putting down the groceries.

“That’s about all that’s straight on that trunk,” he said.

He told me to stand right in front of the tree, and it did look straight. But when I walked to the side, it was quite obvious – that trunk took a definite turn to one side. I walked to the other side – that was even worse.

If I hadn’t been in such a hurry, I would’ve noticed that flaw in the tree. Now we were stuck. My husband tried to reassure me – once we got the lights, tinsel and ornaments on, the crooked part would be covered up.

My hurrying to get a tree was for nothing as Ingrid and Nick had to leave early, so I asked the grandkids to help decorate. They were more than willing to help. As they looked at the tree, I apologized for it being crooked.

But they looked at the tree in a different light.

“It’s an Alice-in-Wonderland tree,” our eldest granddaughter said with a laugh. “Full of twists and turns.”

I’d posted the undecorated tree on my Facebook account, and friends had some pretty funny remarks about it – the tree was a conversation piece, the tree was distinguished and had character.

But my friend and artist Theresa Vincent nailed the right perspective. She said whenever she paints, she thinks of the objects as having personality.

“Their imperfections make them more interesting and relatable, just like people. The tree could be reaching out to hug someone who needs it.”

Theresa’s words made me see the tree in a whole different light. It was one of the few trees on the lot because most people saw its flaw and kept walking. But this overlooked tree had found a home with us.

As the grandchildren hung fake icicles and keepsake ornaments on the branches, we forgot about the imperfections. Instead, we enjoyed transforming a plain pine tree into a sparkling walk down memory lane.

I’ll admit, once decorated, the front of the tree looked good. Of course, if I walked around to the sides, the fact that the tree was crooked was pretty obvious.

But nobody else had a tree like ours. I’d bet nobody else had as many laughs about their tree as we did.

The tree sparked a few philosophical talks about accepting ourselves for who we are and concentrating on positives instead of negatives.

Christmas is a time for making memories. We’ll all remember the laughter we had as we decorated our Alice-in-Wonderland tree.

I’ll also remember Theresa’s last bit of advice – this tree was bent, not broken.

With all its imperfections, it was the perfect Christmas tree.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.