Christmas Tree Love Story
A Short Story By Will Dugan

Little Tommy rocked back on his heels, tilting his head back as far as he could, and gazed in innocent wide-eyed wonder at the star on the top of the Christmas Tree. The lights and the ornaments and the tinsel and the garland melded into a pinpoint horizon of fiber-optic starburst. The lofty lightshow of the star awed Tommy's 5-year-old emotions, and the feeling, along with the vertigo of straining back while looking up, made him dizzy and he fell down/sat down, never losing sight of the tree-topper.

"Wow," said Tommy, "it's bootiful."

Jeff and Dianne, or mommy and daddy as Tommy knew them, had encouraged Tommy's frenetic wonder of decorating the 6-foot pine Christmas Tree. At the onset of the family adventure, he had managed to put some glass ornaments on the lower branches all by himself, gently and carefully hooking each delicate orb at just the right spot on a branch taking care not to so much as break a pine needle. Mommy and daddy had given Tommy the authority to choose which one was next and where it would go. And Tommy ate it up.

"Mommy, mommy, right over here." Tommy pointed to where he wanted to hang a particular ornament, this one a miniature "Santa Bear". Diane took pleasure in hoisting Tommy onto her hip and holding him steady while he performed the operation.

"Daddy, hold still. I got to get it just right." Jeff took the extra effort to hold Tommy as still as he had been directed while another ornament was placed in just the exact right spot.

Tommy's command continued for almost two hours. A short time for Jeff and Diane, but an evening long adventure that enhanced Tommy's sense of holiday wonder way beyond the mere passing of some minutes. Tommy found glee in each and every aspect of the evening's delight. He was so proud of where he chose to hang each decoration. He laughed joyfully as first mommy and then daddy and then mommy again had held him up so that he could throw some tinsel here and there around the girth of the boughs. He took great care in the giving of directions and the placing of the garland; it was important not to cover any ornaments.

Tommy's eager anticipation was tempered and fostered. His big brown eyes sparkled and danced, and the moisture of mirth filled the little windows to his soul. Tommy knew just when to be serious and take great care, but he also was filled with prancing and cavorting spirits. And the love was infectious.

As the performance neared it climax, Jeff lifted Tommy onto his shoulders only after explaining how delicate the fiber-optic star tree-topper was.

"You can hand it to me now, Mommy." Tommy was ever-so-gentle as he accepted the star from mommy. Daddy edged up to the tree with Tommy straddling his neck atop his shoulders, and Tommy fit the base of the special ornament to the tippity-top of the pine tree just as daddy had explained.

And when the electrical connection was made complete and the multi-colored pinpoints of light began their dance, Tommy's awe became a pratfall. And as Tommy sat staring at magic that he and his mommy and daddy had created, there truly were a few moments of "heaven on earth". True love is like that. Yeah, it is.

Copyright © 2009 By Will Dugan