Christmas is a special time of year for most people and so it was for the two small boys and the family of four that lived deep in the woods in a
drafty house in the backwoods of Kentucky.
Papa was putting in overtime down at the factory in town to earn extra money. He walked five miles to town every day and five miles back just so the
bills could get paid, and they would have clothes on their backs and food on the table, Mama was busy baking, cooking
and freezing things to get them through the winter. She was a plain woman, but beautiful in the eyes of her family. Working so hard to keep her family
going in the middle of a depression had taken its toll on her, too. She looked “plumb wore to the bone” but could
always be heard humming a happy tune as she worked.
The Christmas season seem to have snuck up on them this year. The calendar that hung on the kitchen wall on a bent and crooked nail showed the date to
read Dec. 15. Andrew and Lee were not quite old enough to read the months of the year that were written in black on that big old feed mill calendar,
but they knew that the time was fast approaching for Santa to be paying them a visit. Excitement was in the air and it was almost more than two
children could bear. The boys were old enough to understand that there would not be a lot of presents under the tree, but this year there wasn't even a
tree!
The boys knew that Papa was trying hard to get them a tree; he had taken the boys and a sled and an old ax , gleaming from the sharpening stone, to the
woods every year for as long as they could remember as they searched and searched for the perfect tree. One that was tall and green and shaped “just
so”, one with sharp pungent smelling needles and a scaly tight bark, one with branches that curved upward and reached towards the sky. The very tip top
had to be just right to hold the angle that topped the tree every year for as long as anyone could remember.
The angel on the tree was the crowning touch to the Christmas celebration in the little house. She symbolized the angels announcing the birth of the
baby Jesus, but this year Papa was just too busy to go. His repeated promises of “We'll go soon, boys” just didn't satisfy Lee and Andrew anymore.
So on a clear, cold afternoon as soon as they got in from school, Andrew, who was the more adventurous of the two, asked his Mama if he and Lee could
go cut down the tree this year. Mama paused as she thought about their request. They were only two small boys, but what harm could it be to let them
try to get a tree this year. After all, Papa was barely finding time to keep the family supplied in firewood and between that and his work at the
factory, he just didn't have a minute to spare for tree hunting. When she hesitated, as all good Mamas will before giving their permission, Lee jumped
right in and said, “Mama, we won’t go far, and we will take the handsaw and not the ax and we will be very careful and we will stay within sight of the
house and we will take the dog and we will dress warm...”
“Whoa” Mama said, “slow down and let me think.”
The boys could tell she was thinking mighty hard about the dangers and troubles that could come upon two small boys in the woods, but she knew her boys
had been taught the ways of the woods and besides, they were not going far, so she gave her permission, with the admonition to “Stay within sight of
the house.” They were off like greased lightening before she could change her mind, as Mamas have been known to do, just two small boys, an old
handsaw, a sled and the lazy old hound dog named Traveler.
Mama anxiously checked out the window every few minutes hoping that the boys would soon give up on this adventure and return home. Just when she was
ready to holler them in, she spotted Lee's red cap and Carhart coat bobbing between the trees. He was headed for the house ALONE !
“Mama” he gasped as he got to the back door “could you come help is get this tree? It's a little bigger than we thought.”
“Now, Lee” Mama scolded gently “I thought we had agreed on a small tree.” “Well, it's not THAT big Mama and we just need a little help. Andrew and
Traveler stayed in the woods to guard it so no one would get it afore I got back and Mama, it's the most perfect tree you have ever seen and Papa will
be so surprised!” She blew an exasperated breath, ruffled his red hair, pulled on her boots and her frayed winter coat and began the journey with young
Lee, her child who never gave her any cause to fret and never asked for much.
As they traipsed through a small, much-traveled path in the woods, Mama stopped to catch her breath and seemed to recollect something about staying
with in sight of the house. As she looked back over her shoulder, the house was no where in sight and they continued to walk when suddenly, they were
in the middle of a clearing and there was Andrew and Traveler and THE TREE !
“Oh, Lordy be” said Mama. “Don't you just love it ?” asked Andrew from his resting spot beside the tree. “Ain't it just the grandest tree you ever did
see?” Well, grand may not have been the word that Mama would have chosen, but in her motherly wisdom, she just smiled at the boys and circled the tree
from all sides.
I wish you could have seen that tree, it was the biggest tree you have ever seen. Why, that tree was at least 8 feet all and had brown and dying
branches up most of one side, There were branches missing and birds had left nests form years past. There were cracked limbs and peeling bark, and it
listed to one side like a ship in distress on the ocean. The base of it looked like a beaver with hydrophobia had chewed it. It was still standing,
although just barely, and resting beneath its branches were two small, tired boys and one lazy hound dog. All of them had silly grins on their faces,
even, I swear, the dog.
“Oh my” said Mama, “It is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen!” Her gentle but less than truthful words renewed the boys’ energy, and they set
about to the task at hand. The tree soon fell with a resounding crash in the cold quiet woods, and Mama and the boys set off towards the house,
dragging the tree behind them on the red wagon. As they rounded the last bend in the trail they got their second wind and hurried to prop the tree up
against the side of the porch to wait for Papa to set it in the old metal bucket and bring it in the house because that was a job reserved for Papa. He
had them all convinced that it was a man’s job, and they all knew that no one could do it quite like Papa.
The sun soon began to slide behind the trees that surrounded the little house. If you listened carefully and the wind was still in the trees, a man
could be heard whistling as he came up the long gravel road that led to the yard and then the porch of that humble home.. The first glimpse of that
house every evening lifted the weariness from his bones. He knew what would greet him as he stepped on the porch but what greeted him tonight was two
small boys with puffed out chests, Mama looking anxious and THE TREE.
“What the heck is that?” Papa asked in an astonished tone. “That has got to be the ugliest tree I have ever seen!” What he didn't see was the
crestfallen faces of his two young sons.
“THAT” said Mama “Is the most beautiful tree you have ever seen.”
“Have you lost you mind?” asked Papa over the heads of his two sons.
“No.” said Mama. “I am quite sure all my facilities are intact. but I am beginning to question whether yours are!” By this time her eyebrows were
raised and both hands were planted firmly on her hips. This was NOT a good sign and Papa had been married to this gentle women long enough to know he
was in trouble, big trouble!
“Andrew and Mama and me cut the tree down this afternoon, Papa. Don't you like it?” And as Papa looked down into the innocent face of his son, you
could see understanding creep slowly into his face, as slowly as the sun crept behind the trees.
“I just reckon this is 'bout the most perfect tree I ever did see” said Papa. ”Now both of you go get that old metal bucket full of rocks so we can get
this tree stood up and in the in the house.” The boys took off like greased lightening and Papa took the opportunity to steal a kiss from Mama as he
said, “Could this be the front porch tree and I will find another one for the house?”
“Certainly not!” said Mama as she went into the house to move the chair from in front of the living room window. That was where the tree had always
stood and she was determined that this year would be no different.
Well, getting that tree looking presentable was no small task. Papa had to cut at least three feet off of the bottom of the tree to even make it fit in
the house. The birds’ nests, Mama insisted, were NOT coming in her house. They taped branches onto the trunk of that tree to fill in the gaps. Mama
used her good sewing scissors to give the tree a trim and to try and “even it up some,” as she called it. It took strand after strand of cranberries
and popcorn strung on Mama's cotton sewing thread to wrap that tree and give it some semblance of decoration. Paper chains cut from grocery sacks that
had been hoarded all year and carefully colored in red and greens and glued together with flour paste added to the decorations. Candy canes made and
shaped from hard baked dough with just a drop or two of red food coloring added a nice touch. The only store-bought ornament they had was placed high
in the tip top of that tree.
Not much like the trees we have today, was it? Not a single strand of tinsel and not a store-bought light in sight, but that tree, it shined with more
light than any set of five-and-dime store lights could have given it. It shined with the true feeling of home and family. It shined with the light from
an innocent child's trusting eyes, and it reminded the small Kentucky backwoods family that Christmas is not about frills, its not about presents and
gifts. It's about the love we share with one another and the sacrifices we make for each other, just as a baby born in a manger loved and sacrificed
for us.
Money doesn't mean everything to everyone; there are things that mean so much more to some. Sometimes all you need for Christmas is a family, a lazy
old hound dog and a tree.