DA TREE..
Mummy always made Christmas special. Mummy could create something spectacular out of whatever was available. A natural knack to create beauty. One year she made a tree from driftwood, I was not too happy with this...I could not see the vision. It was a bit too avant garde for me lol....rollover on da floor...
Another year she said our Christmas tree would be made from what I think is called Pampas Grass. Not sure if this is it but this is what it looked like. (photo below)
To this day this was my most favorite Christmas Tree ever. It was all white and she added tiny lights. Trust me, it never dawned on me that maybe they could not afford to buy one!!!! But dang that tree was gorgeous.
THE SEARCH
Before having to get a permit to cut down your pine Christmas Tree, this ritual marked the beginning of the season for us kids. A date was set to go and cut down our christmas tree and take a drive to Gladstone Road, which seemed to be another world to the pine barrens!!!.
We would drive along Gladstone Road with eyes pierced to glimpse that perfect tree. All of a sudden some one would shout "STOP" I see one. We would pile out and charge over the sharp rocks in da bush to find that perfect tree. Man we would be laughing, scrape right up and just in dog heaven trekking through the bushes like pros to rescue the perfect CHRISTMAS TREE.
I have no idea when that escapade stopped, but soon it was daddy bursting through the door with a big grin on his face because he got the Christmas Tree. He was so proud of his accomplishment… He would stand at the front door with the biggest grin on his face, his chest puffed and proud as a peacock...you know it was a perfect tree, right...lol.
MUMMY & ME
When I returned from college the pilgrimage became a mummy and daughter outing. We would do lunch, at one of our favorite spots “The Cellar”. This quaint restaurant was located on Charlotte Street, I am so sorry it has closed. They had awesome quiche and salad. We also had to have our Saturday Conch Salad... mummy chunky salad NO ONIONS….and her fix of conch fritters served hot in the greasy fritter bag. These always made my mummy happy. I mean who could Christmas Tree hunt without a belly full...
Naturally we had to add to the ornament collection and plan our strategy. We would drive the island in hunt of the perfectly shaped Christmas tree. Man mummy would make them turn the tree around and around. If she didn’t see perfection it was, "let's keep looking." We really had a good time.
A NEW PASSAGE
Today, the tradition of the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree continues. My son loves Christmas and shopping for the tree. I always thought as he got older he would be less interested. No... now he is to the forefront planning the outing and now chief picker of DA TREE...
Christmas for some reason or another brings an immense amount of joy. Everyone seems happier, people laugh more, they are kinder and it appears for a moment the stress disappears.
MEMORY LANE
The "right of passage" for Bay Street Shopping was the big highlight growing up. It was not necessarily about the shopping, but about hanging out on Bay Street, listening and singing to all the Christmas music blasting in the air, seeing your buddies, going in the stores and pretending with fake accents. Bay Street was crowded, (dating myself...this was before The Mall at Marathon) people bumping into each other. The air was just filled with joy.
As young teens my BFF’s and I were so happy without a care in the world.
We loved Christmas, we sang Christmas carols all the time, loved shopping for the wrapping paper, this may sound weird but we took wrapping our gifts just as important as buying or making the gifts. This was serious stuff!!
and like the true British influence the big tea pot of hot tea. Haha!!! We would spend hours making sure the paper was right, the ribbons were perfect, the tape was not showing. We laughed so much, it was always that much fun...
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL....TAKE THE TIME TO SPEND WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS. CREATE AND ENJOY THE GIFTED MOMENTS......
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