Christmas Trees Over the Years

 

A decade ago I wrote an essay about un-trimming my Christmas tree. Back then I had a live tree and themed party where my guests actually did trim the tree. There was a Teddy Bears’ Christmas trim, a Scented one, a Cozy Slippers trim and many more.  My chance to appreciate the ornaments was when I took the tree down each year. It was always a time to renew acquaintances with old friends—both ornamental and human.

 

I now have three artificial trees, so I don’t hear that telltale “Plink! Plink!” when the needles start dropping, letting me know it’s time to take them down. That sound used to herald an evening of cherished memories. I no longer have holiday parties, so I can put the trees up in early November and take them down in late February. That timetable makes a lot of sense when you consider it takes me two weeks to do all that trimming on my own and at least that long to take the trees down.

 

You may wonder how I went from one live tree with themed parties to three fake ones and a solitary job of decorating them each year. It’s the inevitable result of retiring and growing old. Once I stopped working, my circle of guests diminished significantly. In an effort to get my husband to slow down, I moved us to a condo-type community about two hours from his store in Providence. At the same time, we reached an age where we simply couldn’t handle the weight of a live tree. Sadly, I switched to an artificial one.

 

That explains half of the transition. But how did I wind up with three trees? That happened in two steps. The first artificial tree was seven feet tall. That seemed to be a good size, but it was dwarfed by the high ceilings in our new living room. The next year, I succumbed to the Balsam Hill commercials on Hallmark’s Rom Com channels. Their nine feet tall tree is perfect. The seven feet tall one was relocated to our enclosed porch.

 

By now you’re probably wondering: “What about that third tree?” And: “How do I decide what ornaments to put on which tree?” The answers to both questions are intertwined and they afford me the opportunity to explain my decorating themes.

 

The third tree goes in our family room. It belongs to our cats, with animals and items a cat would like to see. There are cat ballerinas, angels and fairies and even hobo cats. There are white mice, many in red felt outfits, a fluffy-tailed squirrel and some birds. More unexpected are the tiny knitted socks and mittens and the miniature funky sweaters. Our cats are very senior now, so we don’t worry about them trashing things. They like to curl up under the trees on the quilted skirts that cover the stands. If the ornaments get disturbed, it’s usually by accident.

 

What will you see on the large living room tree? That has a lot of hand made crafts, especially blown glass balls, as well as stained glass and pottery stars and hand-etched gourds. But its real claim to fame is all the funky animals. A diligent guest will find several zebras, ostriches, and a flamingo. There’s also lots of elephants, giraffes and a frog or two. I’m sure I’m forgetting some other exotic animals. Several are playing saxophones, by the way.

 

The tree on the enclosed porch is the stateliest. It’s decorated with white china and metallic ornaments, as well as clear glass and crystal ones. A Coalport china bell and lantern were gifts from my former significant other. He’s no longer with us, but his memory lives on in those two ornaments. I have nine silver snowflakes that my father gave me from the Metropolitan Museum, one for every year from 1976 thru 1984. They ended the Christmas after he died. When I touch those snowflakes, it’s as though I’m still touching a small piece of him, too.

 

As I put each ornament on one of the trees, I think of the person or place it came from. Those memories trigger others, often having nothing to do with Christmas. Not all are happy ones, but all are treasured. When I take the ornaments off the trees and carefully wrap each in tissue, I get to savor them a second time. I miss having my friends help trim the trees, but I’m grateful for all the time I now spend with my Christmas treasures and my many years of wonderful memories.

 

Copyright 2024 Business Theatre Unlimited

 

On Being Bald

November blog delayed  

On Being Bald

At the same time that COVID first broke out, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I joined a trial with Yale Medical that included chemotherapy. I didn’t lose my hair and the cancer seemed under control (though not gone) for a few years. I’ve been having regular tests to watch the tumor. Several months ago we discovered the cancer had spread outside my lung. I received additional but different chemotherapy and this time I went bald.

 

It was not my first rodeo. I had breast cancer 34 years ago and I lost my hair then. My wedding photos (second marriage) show my dark hair was growing in like Sinead O’Connor’s. My hair has started growing back in again now, but this time it’s age-appropriate white. With several weeks of growth behind me, my look is more Yahya Sinwar than Sinead. I don’t plan to dye it and I’m still wearing snood hats, so it will be awhile before I know what reaction Yahya will get from friends and family.

 

I got a wig when I lost my hair to chemo in my forties. I hated wearing it and except when I was at work, I often wore scarves from my copious collection instead. I’m retired now and I usually just go around bald at home; I wear the hats when I go out. They’re quite stylish. I bought them from Headcovers.com in several colors with and without embellishments. I got a knit cap that I wear in bed at night to keep my head warm.

 

I learned that there are quite a few reasons why it’s good to be bald. You save a lot on shampoo, conditioner and other hair care products—dye, in my case. You also save time washing it and styling it. I used to brush mine 100 strokes every morning even when I kept it short. When I had longer hair, my mother was always nagging me to get it cut or wear it differently. There’s only one option when you’re bald. I also need just one towel when I shower and it takes no time to dry my head.

 

When I had long hair, my toes were forever getting tangled in stray hair that had collected on the bathroom rug. And sometimes in bed at night, it was difficult to tell where my head ended and the cat’s fur began. That’s never a problem when I’m bald.

 

I’m not sure how long I‘ll let my hair grow eventually. I have what is called a widow’s peak and even with that feature, longer hair was always dragging in my eyes. So I might keep it really short. I’ve seen magazine ads of white-haired older women with very short hair. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull that off, but I might give it a try.

 

There’s room for an exotic tattoo. That’s probably something only younger folks would be interested in and it will be covered over when the hair grows back. People of all ages will be glad to be done with dandruff flakes. I always loved long, dangly earrings, but they didn’t hang right with my short neck. Once I lost my hair, this was not an issue. Baldness also helps you tell if your ears are off-center, but there’s nothing you can do about that.

 

If you’re stressed about going bald, consider some famous bald figures in history and entertainment.  We had Gandhi, Churchill, Yul Brynner and Kojak. More recently we have Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. And Patrick Stewart, Stanley Tucci and James Carville. All the bald women who turn up on searches have shaved heads; I don’t think they should count. I earned my bald head with chemo; shaving it seems like cheating.

 

Being bald has been a different experience this round, but I won’t complain. I spend most of my time at home and we don’t have many visitors. I could probably wear my Little Orphan Annie wig and no one would notice, especially because it’s grayish, not red.  Once my hair grows back, I’m willing to loan out my headgear. If you’d like to add your name to a list of borrowers, let me know. Those on chemo will have priority.

 

Copyright 2024 Business Theatre Unlimited