Christmas Tree in the middle of the Kitchen? Really?

It is kind of neat how things, a year later, are funny when originally they were not!  Last Christmas, we had a very unusual event occur regarding our Christmas tree.  As I have eluded to in other blogs, last winter, I was not quite myself.  My Christmas spirit had been drained.  Telling the boys to stop touching the tree had become a phrase of the day (or of the hour, really).  Last year was the first year that the boys (all 3 of the little ones) were super excited about Christmas, the tree, the sparkly lights, and the ornaments.  However, they did not all possess the finesse yet to handle these things with the necessary delicacy required.  Between me missing home, not feeling connected in New Hampshire yet, Beau working endless hours, and the boys touching the tree more times than I can even count, I had enough. 

Parents, I strongly urge you not to threaten outlandish punishments unless you are willing to follow through.  Better yet, don't even threaten anything over the top because the follow through sucks.  That is one thing that Beau and I have always tried to do as parents....follow through and keeping our word.  At times that has been so hard and we have felt punished in the process.  We have missed parties, play dates, and other events in order to follow through with a threatened punishment.  But these lessons must be taught and learned. 

Well, with my frustration brewing, my patience ceasing, and my dark cloud looming, I did it.  I made the epic parental mistake.  I threatened the dumbest thing.  I said, "The next person that touches that tree, I am going to take it down."  I literally dangled the ball of string.  They couldn't help but touch the tree ONE MORE time.  But this time, it was done looking right at me with a smile on his face.  I can not remember which angelic little boy it was that time (although, I do have my suspicions), but I remember my blood boiling.

In a matter of seconds, I leaped to my feet, placed my hand somewhere in the middle of the tree, and dragged that thing across my living room, tree stand and all!  Ornaments were falling off, kids eyes were growing bigger with each inch that I dragged it, and I was huffing and puffing.  It's much harder dragging a fully decorated tree with the tree stand on than I would have ever imagined!!!  With the cling and clang of the ornaments bumping into each other, my stomping, the sound of the tree stand as it was being dragged on the carpet, and the boys' cries, it was loud and probably a ridiculous sight.  I made it to the kitchen and swiftly laid the tree down right in the middle of the floor.  It laid on the ground diagonally, taking up much of my entire kitchen.  I had three little boys standing next to the tree with tears streaming down their faces.  And yes, I felt bad.  But I warned them.  Now, for those of you that are reading this blog but have little knowledge of me and my interactions with my children, please do not fear.  I am normally a very patient mom with tons of mercy and nurturing.  So, no need to contact child protective services.....I promise. 

Well, now here I was with a silly Christmas tree laying on my kitchen floor.  Now what?  I had to maintain my authority, so I WAS NOT going to put it back up in the living room.  So the only logical thing to do was to keep it there.  We had to step over the tree every time we wanted to gain access to the refrigerator or get to the sink.  I was not too worried, though, because I just knew that when Beau got home he would rectify this situation.  He's so good at remedying all of our dysfunctional situations.  He's just like that. 

But Beau arrived home that evening without having prior knowledge of the incident.  I hadn't had the opportunity nor the guts to tell him.  The look on his face when he entered the kitchen truly made my heart sink.  In complete puzzlement, he asked what anyone would ask in that situation.  "Why is our Christmas tree laying in the middle of the kitchen?"  I then explained to him the situation expecting him to understand.  He was silent.  He kept looking at the tree.  My husband is logical, rational, patient, realistic, analytical, and able to think separately from his emotions.  He continued to study the tree, walking around it a couple of times.  Still not speaking.  He finally concluded that while I had removed the tree, I had managed to dislodge the lights and some of the intricate central plugs in the middle of the tree.  This wasn't necessarily a hard fix, but a time-consuming one.  He finally spoke, but only to inform me that he was NOT going to fix the tree.  Beau is not a vindictive, stubborn, dig your heels in kind of a guy.  In fact he is a problem solver.  So this reaction from him was completely shocking. 

He was a little irritated with me (well, a lot) and I was stubborn (shocking, I know).  So the tree stayed in the middle of our kitchen for 3 days.  We had to keep stepping over it.  In fact, it was so close to the refrigerator, we had to contort our bodies in just the right angle in order to get something from the inside of the fridge.  Yes, we were both too stubborn to move the tree just 3 inches in either direction to gain full access to the fridge.  The boys had resigned themselves to the fact that Santa would just have to bring the presents to the kitchen.  Pitiful, yes. 

Finally after the 3rd day, Beau being the bigger person, griped and grumbled and fixed the tree.  This year, the boys have not touched the tree.  William, however, asked how long the tree was going to remain in the living room.

Cami and I were reliving this memory today over the phone, and she suggested that I blog about it.  I now can laugh about that fallen tree.  But most of all, I will be more careful about my threats.  I hope this quick story made you laugh. 

Have a Merry Christmas