here comes santa claus...es

each year, i get a charlie-brown christmas tree. it's become my own holiday tradition.

my tree is usually crooked. has perhaps three branches. and looks as though it may topple over from the weight of the star on top. but it's mine. and it fits in my apartment.

i've found so much happiness in this tradition.

going to the tree "lot."
passing all of the tall, full trees.
i browse the small, skimpy trees.
and pick out the saddest, most in need of TLC tree i see.

you know what they say: "once a bleeding heart. . ."

so i pass the money to the tree guy. and place one palm at the tree's base. while the other hand balances the top. and begin walking it to its new home.

and as i walk, i'm enlivened by the passersby.

it's almost like walking a dog. nearly everyone passing smiles or asks me where i got it or begins nudging their friend to take a look. i'm not the first person to have a tree like this. but the feeling of really loving this tree and loving that other people are brightened by it, too. well. that's just complete holiday gravy.

and as i walked my tree home today, with a slight bounce in my step, i encountered these same reactions. and - as the cycle goes - felt even bouncier because of it.

and then. . .

i found myself suddenly in the thick of santas. thousands of santas. santaCON. the annual santa convention that consists of thousands of people dressing up as santa, traveling en masse, and drinking at various establishments around the city. and they do all of this because. . . they can.

and as i made my way through the crowd, charlie-brown tree in hand. santas were going wild. in general. but also in the direction of my tree. proclaiming it "the best christmas tree EVER!" and though my tree got a real ego boost from receiving such high praise from, you know, a thousand santas.

i knew it already.