The first Christmas on Kodiak Island I desired a tree to help ease the feeling of homesickness. Determined to bring a tree home even though my vehicle was broken down, I trudged down to a local store to make my purchase. When the cashier asked if I needed help loading it into my vehicle, I told her I would be dragging it home. She then called a worker from the back who owned a truck to drive me and the tree home.

The best part of Christmas for me growing up in Michigan was Christmas Eve service with the entire family sitting in one pew, me next to my daddy who had gotten dressed up and smelled good. God always took center stage in our Christmas activities from putting up a nativity to reading the story of Christ’s birth on Christmas morning before opening gifts. My favorite creche resided underneath my grandma’s tree.  There would be no gifts until the Christmas celebration with relatives, just Mary and Joseph, the kings and shepherds, looking down into the manger upon baby Jesus. I asked her once why she put it under the tree, and her response was “Jesus is the best gift I’ve ever been given”.

My Christmas tree the first year on my own was given to me by a neighbor, a truck driver, who had just finished hauling a load of Christmas trees. There was one that was badly damaged having many of the back limbs completely sheared off. He knew I did not have a budget for much as a university student renting a trailer house, so he offered it to me. Standing no taller than me, the beautiful blue spruce was placed right up next to the wall, taking up very little room. It will always be among the favorite Christmas trees I’ve decorated over the years.