Thanksgiving Tree

I never thought it was such a bad little tree…

—Linus Van Pelt

I’m still fighting the “should I or shouldn’t I” battle with the heat. As fast as temps were near record highs, they were suddenly at record lows, so I went from flinging blankets off to piling them on. It’s a delicate dance this time of year. And with utility prices where they are, it’s hard to blame anybody for maybe sticking a big wad of tape over the thermostat with “do not touch” scrawled across the face. I work in my basement, which has electric baseboard heat that I never turn on because electricity costs are whack, so I make do with a tiny portable heater instead, which I need even in the summertime because it’s like a coal mine down here. I make sure I flip the thing off every time I leave the room because I’m paranoid that it’s going to cause a fire, which would suck way worse than a bloated electric bill. And so it goes.

Our Christmas tree is up, albeit decorated for Thanksgiving….with a bit of a fall motif, giving us some cover against the early tree haters. The last few years we decided that once Halloween was out of the way, the tree should emerge, because why not? We’re all mortal, so why not put up the tree early? There’s just something about a tree that smooths over the rough edges some. If the room is cold because ‘ol Bob Cratchit won’t turn on the heat, the tree just makes it feel warmer. I love sitting in the living room late at night, dressed in layers, with its twinkle in my eye. It helps me to not feel so old.