What you get when your grown sons forget they’re too big to wrestle in the Living Room.

A brand new tree the very next year.

And because you can’t just simply replace the old tree, you have to buy a “new and improved model”.  That translates into taller, 9 feet in this case.  And because it’s 9 feet tall it’s also pre-lit because you knowthat’s the only way you’ll ever get lights on it.  But because you’re short you don’t quite think about how tall 9 feet really is until the next year when you’re putting up that beautiful tree and there is only one place in the living room where the ceiling is high enough for the tree to be.  And when YOU stand next to the tree it kind of looks like this.

But you survive the “You are out of your ever-livin’ mind” and “I’m only doing this because I love you” looks from your husband and try not laugh at him too much while he tries to decipher the instructions with one of those grown sons so that the tree finally gets put up completely and you’re all able to put the ornaments you’ve collected over the years on it.

And because you love Christmas lights and having the Christmas tree up  you just simply can’t help but grin like a maniac every time you look at it.

Your dog, on the other hand, is really trying to figure out why you’ve insisted on bringing the outside inside again.  Especially when we know it  just disturbes her.