What makes a Christmas tree perfect?

Oh where should I begin?

I'm sitting here, in the dark and quiet. Well, it's not completely quiet. There's Christmas music playing in the background.

And it's not completely dark, for that matter. My tree, my Christmas tree, is glowing in front of me.

I've been staring at it since the kids went to bed. Staring and listening.

I do believe that this is the best tree that we've ever have and I can't tell you why. It's probably a combination of many things…the fact that there are just enough ornaments to cover the tree with out it looking sparse or over crowded. Maybe it's the new tree topper that we purchased yesterday because our old one bit the dust. Maybe it's the garland that we're not sure where it came from but that was just long enough to go around our tree. Or perhaps it's because it's in the perfect spot in the house for a tree, especially considering that three weeks ago, I stressed over where we were even going to put a tree. Of course, it could have something to do with the tree stand… there's a story there, I promise… but you'll have to wait for it.

My bet though is that it's because every ornament on the tree has a memory, and that not one of them were bought just to fill space. There are ornaments that I made when I was a child and ones that my kids have made. There are those that were given to me as gifts by special people in my life at the time, even if they aren't still in my life now. Some of them came from the collection that my grandmother started for me when I was born, and others from trips that we've made over the years.

I think the most unique one that is there is the one that Samara purchased this year at school though. She came home with what she told me was a "family" ornament. It was a Christmas tree with 5 heads on it, 3 girls and 2 boys, and on the bottom it says "The Jacobson's 2007".

I questioned her on the heads and who they all were. She started pointing to them and listing them off she said matter-of-factly, "You, me, Matt, Daddy, and Jennifer." (Jennifer is her step-mother, by the way.)

I chuckled when she told me and didn't think anything more about it. I did mention it to my mother, who also laughed, and when we decorated the tree yesterday, she asked if she could put the "family" ornament on the tree. I said yes, and it's now prominently displayed where everyone can see it.

But, the more I think about this ornament, I stop to consider why she purchased it. I've never heard her mention her father and I reconciling. She adores her step-mother. She's so very proud of her ornament.

My conclusion? And it's a no brainer, really.

That is the perfect depiction of her family. Her family doesn't just include Matthew and I nor does it include just her brother, father and step-mother. It includes all of us even though we don't all live together.

And this? Is amazing to me.

Six years ago, we weren't speaking. He wasn't in their lives at all.

Today? They came to our Church to see the kids in their Christmas pageant.

Yes, first T-day dinner at our church… and now?

The family, as defined by Samara, was all in attendance for a major event in their lives.

And that? Is an amazing thing and something I never thought was possible.

We added a new memory to our Christmas collection this year without even trying and we'll add even more before the season is over I'm sure.

And I'd like to think that in 20 years, when I'm nearing my 51st birthday, and my kids are grown and gone, that I will be sitting in the quiet and dark of my living room and staring at my tree, and remembering this year…

…the year that family was defined.

Until next time…

Heather

PS. Don't get me wrong! I would love for a new family ornament at some point in time with some more heads on it, preferably that of my husband. But for now? I'm completely okay with what I have.