"The Bogados and their first Christmas tree" (12/12/12)
Provo, Utah
December 12, 2012
Traditional Christmas
Today we finally put together our Christmas tree. I said "finally" because traditionally my family back at home does it on the 8th of December and I was getting a little anxious to have my first Christmas tree as a family.
Usually I'd go on a trip, mainly to forget that I am far away from the family. But this year is different. This year I am decorating the Christmas tree with my wife and the kid...who I love. I guess, my own little family.
The one who saved Christmas
My wife's family, traditionally, gets real pine-trees for their Christmas tree. This year we are on an extra super tight budget so we didn't get a real one.
And to tell you the truth, I never liked that tradition: For starters, you kill a tree... (I don't know, I guess I am a tree huger)... they are expensive, great fire hazard, it dies quickly, and it's a pain to get rid of them, and... they are messy.
Most people put their tree the first week of December. But I didn't care. The 8th came along though, and then I started to get a little anxious about it.
I asked around if someone had a tree to spear and it happens that my friend Oleg (The Russian) left his tree at Dave's Apartment when he moved. Yay! Oleg Saved Christmas!
The Grinch
Dave likes to pretend he doesn't like anything related to Christmas so he was glad when we came to get the rid of the tree.
When I was talking to Dave on the phone the kid heard me calling him 'Grinch' so when we saw Dave he said "I know who you are, you are The Grinch!" (The kid really thinks Dave is The Grinch)
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| On the way to get the tree we stopped by Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. |
When we got home we put some Christmas music, the wife started baking cookies, and the kid and I started to put the tree together. (Have you ever wondered why most Christmas music are so depressing?) (Or it's just me?)
My wife's mom sends her a new tree-ornament every year... so she already had a lot of them... the most especial one for her was the one she got when she was born... What a nice tradition.
I always also wanted that my ornaments had a meaning to me... A few years ago I started to travel a lot... and getting memorabilia (souvenirs) from the places I visited, like t-shirts, postcards, pins... but after a while I didn't know what to do with them... I would never see them again... so I started getting cool ornaments instead.
It might sound silly to you, but for real, I think they are awesome. I can't tell you how proud and excited I am to look at my tree and being able to tell where-from I got each of my ornaments. I am still sad to have lost the one I got in Puerto Rico. It was a hand crafted wooden ornament... it was great. I am also sad not to have ornaments from cool places I visited before I decided to do this. Also, sometimes there is a trip but no money :D
Twelve, twelve, twelve
Anyway that's it... 12/12/12 will be always marked as the day that the Bogados had their first Christmas tree. Here are some pictures of the ornaments.
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| Amish handmade stained-glass ornament from Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
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| This is from a visit to The US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland |
