I remember hiking through the back forty for our Christmas tree. Us kids would wade through thigh high snow to find a good spruce tree. My oldest brother would climb the tree and cut off the top and we would all drag it back through the Tug Hill snows to the house. Oftentimes it was a lot bigger than it looked in the woods and we would have to trim it down considerably to fit into the corner of the livingroom. The sweet aroma of freshly cut evergreen permeated the old farmhouse. Ah, Christmas!
These days what permeates is the sound of clicking fingers on keyboards and the silent hum of the internet. My days of tromping through the snow have long gone and my plastic tree is prelit. I could buy a candle with evergreen scent if I wanted to simulate the smell of a real tree. Sigh. What have I, we, become? When did misplacing the cell phone become the reason I don't dare to drive to the store? When did spider solitare replace a game of rummy with friends? I usually am able to get on my high horse and blame someone else, but, sadly, I am a part of it all. I love being able to see what is going on in the world with a few key strokes and to write my two cents worth.
Still, just one more time, I would like to shut everything off, sit quietly listening to the sounds of a wood fire and remember......
