Yes, we do have a tree. And yes, it is a real tree. And it is adorned (not with real wax candles as we do it where I come from) but a large assortment of well, ornaments.

Jarek and I keep these in a box. Actually two boxes. And every year I am amazed by what we have collected over the last decade…Now, I am supposed to be a modern and design driven individual with a sense of beauty and style…but honestly, this is what goes up onto the tree over here at our house:

There is the very first ornament he had ever gotten: a fly fishing Curious George from our neighbors Dolly and Dean in 2000 ( slightly broken now) the hand crochet snowflakes we got from my grandmother, a glow in the dark jellyfish that does not glow in the dark any more, lots of metal letters from Restoration Hardware that originally spelled our names, but don’t anymore, than there are eggs, and elephants and owls and nests, and raccoons, and snow balls with faces, a turtle and a hand knitted lamb that our dog Dude got a hold of one year but we saved it and only one of its ear is ripped so we consider it “okay to hang”…You get the idea. I came to believe that ’tis is the season to not worry about looks and style, just cherish your stories, your history and your future memories.

And from afar it does look pretty. Right?