Looks to be a light week for me and instead of heavy market posts I will try to offer up some more philosophical takes on things.
The Christmas Branch
I was in third grade. It was the start of December. Christmas was on the way. No better time for a kid, just none.
And then my Mom got an idea.
My mother is a "leaf peeper" (so annoying) and on a trip in the fall she found this white birch branch that captured her attention. I guess I should have known. She decided that this branch would be our Christmas tree for that year. It was no huge green tree but what did me and my two sisters and brother care? It was all about the presents!
My Mom was a huge coffee drinker and that year Maxwell House included these clear plastic ornaments in anticipation of the holiday season. My mother also bought a ton of glass icicles from a thrift store. The barren tree was dressed with these all white decorations. My Mom loved it! I guess it was artsy or what not. I thought it was a bit weak, but whatever.
And I think it would have been fine if some friends had not stopped over.
I forget what we were doing but 3 friends came over to hang out and they saw the new era work of art Christmas tree. A branch with plastic ornaments. It went from there.
The next day at school I noticed the pointing fingers and the laughs as I walked by. Obviously this was before I found beers so it made no sense, I had not made a fool of myself.
The next two weeks were a cacophony of "you are so poor" and "all you have for a tree is a branch". Even my teacher pulled me aside and asked me if things at home where OK. Can you imagine?
We were poor, more than I think many big players can realize (I will cover this in my next post) but this particular time it was by choice we had this tree. My mother loved it. She really did.
And so I never said a thing.
But I did fight. Oh, did I fight. I cleared out the 4th, 5th, and half the 6th graders before people just stopped crapping on me over that tree. I never had another fight until junior high after that, I took them all on. Even in high school the freaking tree would come up!
I love my mother, she has been a beacon and a source of strength for me for so long. I told her about this story maybe 8 years ago and she was crestfallen about it. She need not be. I know how much she loved that tree and I would protect her from the petty things that make the rounds at that age.
Is there a point here? I hope so.
Have a good night.
