The holiday decorations were up and I had spruce essential oil burning in the diffuser as John and I played Yahtzee last night.

As we played I said, “Did you smell the scent of Christmas tree when you came in tonight?”

“No,” he said.

“Really?” I found that odd.

For a moment I got lost in my own little world thinking about how I missed the smell of a real Christmas tree. When we first got married we had a real tree the first few years, then went to an artificial one. For quite a few years, and I’ve lost track, we didn’t have one at all, and I actually got rid of the one we had, lights and all, plus the tree stand.

I noticed John was looking into the living room as he said, “I was thinking we should get a real tree this year.”

Tears instantly flooded my eyes and I said, “Really? I was thinking the same thing too!”

Then I realized something. “But we don’t have any lights or a tree stand. I got rid of everything quite a few years ago.”

Grinning he said, “Well, then, we will just have to pick that up too.”

I jumped up and hugged him so tight. He said, “We can go tomorrow and cut a tree down.”

Well, now I was really crying! Tears of joy! We’d never done that before and I was like a little girl on Christmas Eve anticipating the arrival of Santa, but instead, excited about the adventure we would have getting our tree instead.

So here’s the thing. John is a great guy. I’m one lucky lady and couldn’t have asked for a better partner to share my life. But I’d kind of given up for a long time talking about a real tree. It always seemed a hassle to bring it up. You know how life can get in the way if you let it sometimes?

But in those moments all I could think of was how much I loved him. It’s experiencing life that matters and what is so precious. The older I get the more those experiences become that more special.

And so today we set off to a tree farm to get our tree. It was the best. day. ever.  Riding in the wagon, down the path past rows and rows of beautiful trees, the wind blowing in our faces, breathing in the fresh air, well, all I can say is I was one happy girl.

The wagon dropped us off and down the rows we went. I spotted one and said, “This one! He is so beautiful! This is the one I want!”

John said, “Well, let’s just walk a little further yet.”

And a little further, I saw another one, “This one! This is the one I want! Isn’t he beautiful?”

But yet John said we should keep looking.

And we walked some more until I said, “Nope, that last one. That’s the one I want.” So back we went.

I wanted it to all go in slow motion and capture every single detail. While I don’t know if we will have a real tree next year, or after that, or what the future holds, the fact is the memory of how this all unfolded to having a real tree this year is one I’ll treasure for a very long time to come.

I look in my living room this afternoon as night approaches and the tree is half lit. Yup. Didn’t get enough lights, so back to the store  tomorrow…but that tree just makes me so happy because of how it all came to be. It is one loved tree.

And I thank my lucky stars for this gift that will be in my heart always.