The Christmas Tree

Today a friend gifted me a small Christmas tree. She was appalled when she learned that I did not have one and informed me that needed to be remedied ASAP. When I jokingly responded that she could get me one for Christmas, she hit my arm in excitement. By the middle of my Uber ride home from her residence, she had texted me asking if I preferred white or multi-color lights. (Answer: multi-color.)

And today it arrived. It is four feet tall, and between the tree and my mom’s touches and small gifts over the years, the apartment feels genuinely festive. The tree presently has three ornaments on it acquired over the years. These ornaments feature three things vital to me year-round but especially at Christmas.

One is a dove from the 2nd Home Alone movie. If you have seen the movie, you know that the main character Kevin gives one of a pair of doves to an older woman in the park who had been there for him in his time of need. My memory of the movie might be wrong but I think that Kevin explained to this woman that you give one of the doves to a person you love, and you keep one, so you are together in a way even if you are apart. A couple of days ago I had given the pair of doves to my Christmas tree friend to do what she wanted. She immediately gave one back to me, and when I told her that she didn’t have to if she didn’t want to, she informed me not to be “effin ridiculous, of course, I’m giving the other one to you.”

See, I had given her the doves because she loves Home Alone 2, but more importantly, because we have been best…