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 friends for many years now and Christmas is kind of a big thing with us. We have a tradition where we go for drinks at a particular bar on 12/23, and the following day, I pop by her house since her family does the seven fishes tradition on Christmas Eve. This has been going on with only two years absent for SEVENTEEN YEARS. So the dove on my tree is about one of my favorite long friendships and Christmas traditions. (I’m a sucker for a good tradition.)
Ornament number 2 is a ball featuring the city of Philadelphia. My other long-time best friend in the city gave it to me. Two things are essential about this ball: 1. it is from this friend I love and 2. it features Philly, which is a place I love. You ever travel places and are like, “Oh, this is gorgeous, but I don’t know if I ever can feel at home here?” Philly is home to me.
Ornament number 3 is the LOVE symbol as designed by Robert Indiana. It is probably the most famous sculpture in Philly. And we are at my final point about three things important to me: LOVE. My favorite place to be is with the ones I love. Playing with the little kids in my family and laughing with my cousins. Singing by a piano. Opening gifts with my family and then eating blueberry muffins on Christmas morning. Being able to be myself with friends and playing with my dog. Christmas is home to me, and Christmas is love.
Love = home.
And to top it all off, I now have a festive tree with lights, a dove, a Philly ball, and a LOVE ornament. What more could a girl want?