Here's the hole, and here's one of the remaining trees that the missing tree looks like. It appears that the Grinch visited us in the middle of the night.
Here's the trail of dirt left as the tree was yanked from the ground and pulled through my garden and into the street.
The strange noises that invaded my dreams last night, but didn't wake me up, now make sense.
Somewhere, there is someone using our little pine tree as their Christmas tree. It is hard to imagine the joy that they'll get out of this--it makes me sad for them. They must be pretty desperate people to commit a crime to decorate their house for the holidays--what a lot to risk for something that they'll most likely discard, rather than plant (even though they ripped it out by the roots).
I'm also thinking that this was premeditated. They had to have scouted out the neighborhood, selected the tree they wanted, and then arrived with a truck, a chain and a shovel.
I'm actually thankful that I didn't wake up enough to really comprehend what was going on. We might have run outside in our pajamas to try to stop it. At the very least we would have lost sleep and been cold, and it is possible that we could have been hurt.
So what started out as a sad moment, disappointed in the poor choices of a fellow human(as Hannah put it, "They made a really bad choice, didn't they mama?"), got me thinking about what I'm thankful for. I found myself humming the Welcome Christmas song from the end of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas . . . welcome, welcome fahoo ramus, welcome, welcome dahoo damus, Christmas Day is in our grasp, as long as we have hands to clasp. . .
I'm thankful for my sweet husband who took this in stride. I'm thankful for my daughters who bring me so much joy every day. We've been having fun making gingerbread men and decorating our house for Christmas.
Hannah has been going through her toys and selecting gifts for her cousins--things she thinks they'll really love. She wrapped this gift very lovingly for Sarah.
Sarah delights in the lights and loves to show me all the things that she finds.
I'm thankful for the roof over our heads, the food on our table, the jobs that sustain us, the loving family that surrounds us. I hope that the little tree does provide some peace and joy for a family who must not have much.
