It's not just another tree any more

So we picked out and cut down our Christmas tree over the weekend. Like last year, we got a concolor fur tree ... it's very cool. The pin needles are soft, it stays fresh the entire time it's in the house and when you break the needles, there's this citrus smell.

Anyway, so as we're plodding through the tree farm trying to make choice, I was reminded of one of the best jobs I had.

During my first year of college, I took a part-time job selling Christmas trees and making deliveries for a local flower shop/nursery. The shop was located in a fairly urban area, so the trees were already cut. People would come, take a look at what we had and off they'd go. Simple.

But the more I worked there, the more I realized that these weren't just trees once families made their decision on which one they wanted. It was a lot of fun to watch people, especially those with kids, look through the trees and make what it is, after all, a very important decision. And it was the look on the kids faces that was the best. They would get so excited once the tree was wrapped up and on the car. Most of the time I would tie it to the top of the car and I could see the kids bouncing in their seat. More than once some of them would start singing Christmas songs, especially "Oh Christmas Tree".

And the parents would be so appreciative of my help of holding the tree up so they could all look at it on the lot, or helping to tie the tree to the car or fresh-cutting the bottom so it would last longer once they got the tree home. People would often try to tip me for my help and even though I could take it, I always declined ... Christmas was expensive enough for people and I was getting paid to do this job anyway.

I used to get home every day from that job so excited for the holidays. No doubt I was long forgotten for the families that I had helped, but it was kind of neat knowing that I had something to do with their Christmas celebrations.

Really, it was the best job I ever had.