REMINDER OF SPRING

“Well, it’s started.” I said with a sigh as I looked out our front window. The snow had just begun and the predictions were anywhere from a foot to eighteen inches dropping on us over the next two days. “The blizzard of ’26” I sighed again.

“Isn’t it nice that we’re all cozy in our warm house, with a pot of homemade chicken soup on the stove?” My husband Steven asked as he stood next to me by the window.

“I guess.” I said as I sat down on the couch, picked up my book I’d been reading, and grabbed the throw from the back of the couch, tossing it over my legs. I glanced out the window again. “It’s coming down fast.”

“It’s supposed to be two inches an hour.” Steven said as he headed out to the kitchen. “Is this soup ready yet?” He called.

“I’d give it another hour.” I looked at my watch. “I thought we’d have it for lunch.”

“I’ll just give it a little test.” He called back as I heard the lid come off the pot.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Okay. Let me know what you think.”

My son Alex came into the room and looked out the window. “So, it finally started.”

“Yup.” I could see the wind was picking up and the snow was starting to come in sideways. “Two whole fun days of this.”

“Hey, this is the easy part.” Alex said as he sat down at the other end of the couch.

I was confused. “The easy part?”

“Sure.” He grabbed another blanket and pulled it over his legs. “Watching the storm is the easy part. Shoveling it out is going to be the problem.”

I sighed again as I leaned my head back against the pillow. “I’m so done with snow.”

Steven came back in the room holding a pot of mini daffodils. “When did you get this?” He asked as he brought over the pot and placed it on the coffee table next to me.

“When I went to the grocery store yesterday to stock up on storm groceries.”

“Storm groceries?” Alex asked.

“Well, it was my usual grocery shopping day but I added some muffin mixes, chips and dip, and some ice cream.” I looked over at Alex. “You know. Storm food.”

“What kind of muffins are you making?” Steven asked.

“You have a choice. Blueberry or banana nut?” I closed my book and tossed it on the coffee table. “I can’t focus on reading right now.” I tossed the blanket off me and got up, ready to go in the kitchen to start baking.

“Wow.” Steven looked serious. “That’s a tough choice.”

I looked over at him and shook my head. “I could make both.” I said with a laugh.

“That’s probably a good decision.” Steven nodded in agreement. “The storm is going to go on for a few days.”

I grabbed the pot of flowers and placed them on the window sill. “This is going to help.”

“How’s that going to help?” Alex asked.

“Well, if I only focus on the flowers thinking that spring is only a few weeks away maybe what’s happening outside will fade away.”

Alex laughed. “I guess you could try that.”

Putting my hands on my hips I stared at the daffodils whispering to myself. “It’s almost spring. It’s almost spring.” I took a deep breath. “You know I think that helped.” I turned around and looked at Steven. “Time to get some baking done.” I said as I headed to the kitchen. “Both kinds coming up!”

“That’s my girl!” Steven called back.

PLANT DOCTOR

I was holding my phone up to my pothos plant, snapping a picture, when my son Alex came into the room.

“Why would you want a picture of that plant?” He asked sounding confused. “It doesn’t look very healthy.”

“I know.” I checked the screen on my phone. “That’s why I’m looking up how to fix it on my plant identifying app.”

Alex peeked into the pot, scratching the dry dirt with his finger. “Maybe watering it might help.”

“I was thinking about re-potting it so I didn’t want to work with wet dirt.” I explained as I began scrolling. “First off it says this plant needs attention.”

Alex laughed. “I could have told you that.”

“It also says I could be over-watering it.” I looked over at Alex and then at the bone dry dirt. “I think I’ll go with the second problem it could be which is a pathogen infection.” I looked at the leaves with brown edges. “I wonder where it picked up an infection?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. Did you have it outside this summer?”

“Absolutely not!” I cried as I shook my head. “I don’t know if you remember but, years ago I put it outside when it got warm enough. But, when I brought it back in, an entire ant farm came in with it.” I couldn’t help but give a little shutter. “I was finding ants around the house for weeks after that.” I looked over at Alex and nodded my head. “So, after that, no indoor plants will ever go outside again.” I stated firmly. “It’s a rule.”

“Sounds like a good one to have.” Alex agreed.

I looked back at my phone. “So now it says that in order to fix this problem I’m going to need to take a half teaspoon of baking soda, one teaspoon of liquid soap, mix it in a gallon of water and spray it on the leaves every two weeks until the brown spots go away.” I put my phone down on the table. “That sounds easy enough.” I walked into the kitchen to find the ingredients.

Alex followed me slowly shaking his head. “You’re never going to remember to spray that on it every two weeks.”

I looked confused. “Sure I will. Why wouldn’t I?”

He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the plant. “Because you’ve forgotten to even water it.” He reminded me.

“That was before it got sick.” I opened the cabinet and grabbed the container of baking soda. Opening the drawer below it I grabbed the measuring spoons. “I’ve had that plant for over twenty years. I can’t let it die now.”

“Well, good luck with that.” Alex said as he patted me on the shoulder and went over to the refrigerator opening the door.

“Don’t you have any faith in me?” I asked with a laugh.

“I have all the faith in the world.” Alex said with a laugh. “But if your indoor gardening skills are anything like your outdoor ones that plant’s in for some trouble.”

“Hey!” I cried. “I didn’t kill any of the plants in the garden this year!”

“I think the words you’re tripping up on are ‘this year’”. He took a bowl of grapes out of the refrigerator, placed the bowl on the counter-top, and popped a grape in his mouth.

I couldn’t help but sigh. “That’s true.” I looked back at my poor pothos plant before grabbing the liquid soap from the counter next to the sink. “But I’m going to try my best.” I called over to my plant.

“That’s all you can do.” Alex reminded me as he held out the bowl of grapes to me. “Grape?” He asked.

“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” I popped one in my mouth then began making the magic potion that was going to heal my poor sick plant.

MORNING PEACE

I was sitting on the couch reading a book, the sun just starting to rise, when my son Alex came into the room.

“Morning.” He said as he headed to the kitchen. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good.” I said laying my book open on the couch. “How about you?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

He had the kettle in his hand and was filling it with water.

“Can you put enough in there for me to have some?” I asked.

“Sure.”

I went over to the cabinet, took out my cup, got a tea bag, and dropped it into the cup. “I don’t know if you noticed it or not but I wasn’t on my phone when you came in the room.” I placed the cup on the counter.

Alex put the kettle on its warming stand and turned it on. “I did notice you were reading a book.”

“That’s because I’ve decided that I’m going to be phone free for the first hour every day from now on.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter top, a self-congratulatory smile on my face. “It’s my New Year’s resolution.”

Alex laughed. “It’s the middle of February!”

“It’s never too late to make one.” I reminded him.

“Well, I’m proud of you.” He came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Your phone seemed to be attached to your hand from the moment you’d wake up.”

I couldn’t help but sigh. “Yeah, it was getting kind of ridiculous.”

Just then my husband Steven came into the kitchen holding out my phone. “You forgot this on your bedside table.”

I kept my arms crossed not wanting to take the phone. “I didn’t forget it. I’m going phone free for the first hour every morning from now on.”

Steven shrugged his shoulders and placed the phone on the counter top. “All right. But it’s been ringing non-stop since I got out of the bathroom.”

I looked at the clock and then Alex, a grimace on my face. “I’ve got another twenty minutes.”

“You can do this.” He reminded me as he went to the cabinet to get out a mug.

“But what if it’s work?” I argued.

Alex shook his head. “It’s twenty minutes. Nothing’s that important that it can’t wait twenty minutes.”

My phone rang again. Alex picked it up and clicked the side to stop the ringing. “I’ll keep this from you for the next twenty minutes.” He laughed as he dropped my phone into his pocket.

“I think you might have to.” I said as I felt my hands getting sweaty. “This is harder than I thought.”

The kettle had come to a boil and Alex poured the water into my cup. Once he was done he handed it to me. “Take this and go back to reading your book.” He said. “I’ll bring you your phone when the time is up.”

“Okay.” I sighed as I heard the sound of a text message coming through. “Can you at least check it and make sure it isn’t an emergency?” I asked.

Alex slipped it out of his pocket and took a look. “It’s not an emergency.” He said as he dropped it back in his pocket.

“Promise?” I asked.

“Promise.” He said as he looked at his watch. “You’ll see in about eighteen minutes.”

“Okay.” I headed back to the couch. Putting my cup on the coffee table and picking up my book I sat down and took a deep breath. “You can do hard things.” I said under my breath. “You’ve got this.”

SINGING FOR YOU SUPPER

It was a cold winter morning with a blanket of snow and ice covering our back yard. The temperature hadn’t been above freezing for over a week. “This snow is never going to melt.” I sighed as I filled the tea kettle with water.

My son Alex was looking out the back door. “Come here. You’ve got to see this poor mourning dove.”

“What’s it doing?” I asked as I walked over to him.

“Just staring at me.” He laughed.

Sure enough a chubby little mourning dove was sitting on our deck’s railing staring at our back door.

“Feed me.” Alex said in a high pitched voice pretending to be the bird.

“Okay. Fine.” I sighed as I put the kettle down and walked over to the front hall closet.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked.

“The bird feeders haven’t been filled since before the storm.” I said as I put on some boots, tucking my pajama legs inside them before grabbing my coat. “I guess it’s time for me to fill them again.” I put my coat on over my bathrobe.

“You’re going out in your pajamas?”

“No one’s going to see them under my coat.” I reasoned as I went over to the back door and picked up the lidded bucket of bird seed we kept there. “Well, here I go.” I opened the back door and braced for the cold blast of air that quickly hit me.

The snow had drifted over a foot high in places with a thick crust of ice on top. I had to stomp my way to the feeders, breaking through the ice one footstep at a time. “You better appreciate this.” I grumbled starting to feel winded as I continued making my way slowly through the drifts with a bucket of birdseed swinging by my side.

As I filled the feeders I could see several birds tucked in the trees watching me. “I know it’s too cold for you guys to be singing but a few little thank you chirps wouldn’t be too much to ask for would it?” I reached over to fill another feeder. “It’s not like I’m asking you to sing for your supper but come on… a little acknowledgment for my efforts would be nice.”

There wasn’t a peep from any of them.

“Okay. Fine.” I put the lid back on the birdseed bucket. “Breakfast is served.” I said before I turned around and made my way back to the house, trying to use the same footsteps I’d used coming out.

Alex met me at the door. “I’m sure they’re going to appreciate that.”

“They’d better.” I stomped the snow off my boots before coming back in the house.

Several minutes later I looked out the back door to see dozens of birds swarming the feeders. Several others were on top of the ice, pecking at the seed that had fallen from above.

“There’s the mourning dove that started it all.” I said as we watched it circling the base of the feeder, it’s little orange feet standing out brightly against the snow.

I cracked open the door to listen to the sound of dozens of birds squawking at one another trying to find a spot to get to the seeds. I looked back over at Alex. “Not exactly hearing them singing for their supper but it does sound like they’re appreciating the meal.”

Alex patted me on the shoulder. “They definitely sound like it.”

INDOOR BEACH

My husband Steven and son Alex came into the house knocking the snow off their shoes and unzipping their coat. A blast of cold air followed them in.

“We cleared the driveway and the sidewalk and steps are sanded.” Steven said as he hung his coat on the closet door.

“Thanks you two.” I said as I pulled the broom out of the closet.

We’d been hit with another snowstorm and Steven and Alex had spent the last few hours clearing it away.

“I made some chicken soup if you’re interested. It’s on the stove, ready to go.” I began sweeping the sand from our front foyer. “All the sand you’re spreading over the sidewalk seems to be making it’s way in the house.”

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about slipping on the ice.” Steven reminded me.

“True.” I nodded as I already had a pile swept together. “I’ll just pretend it’s like having a little bit of summer right here in the house.” I laughed.

Alex hung up his coat and pointed to some specks of sand near the foyer table. “You missed a spot.”

I saw where he was pointing to and swept the sand into the pile I already had. I grabbed the dust pan, swept the sand into it, took it over to the kitchen garbage and dumping it in. “I don’t want to even think about all the sand I have in my car from the sidewalks being sanded.”

I went to put the broom and dust pan back in the closet.

“I thought the sand in the car was from this summer?” Alex said.

“What? No.” I said. “I had the car cleaned from all the summer sand.” I went back into the kitchen and got out some bowls. “It definitely has winter sand in it now.” I handed him a bowl.

“There’s really no difference between winter sand and summer sand is there?” Alex laughed as he took the ladle and got some soup. “Isn’t sand just sand?”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” I said as I took the ladle from him. “Summer sand is like a vacation. It’s warm and soft and makes me smile.” I handed a bowl of soup to Steven. “There’s some bread in the cabinet if you want some.”

“Just the soup is fine.” Steven took the bowl and headed for the dining room table. “I could use something to warm me up.”

Alex was standing next to me waiting for me to finish getting my soup. “And winter sand?”

“Winter sand comes out of a spackle bucket that’s by the front door. It’s something your Dad spreads around so we don’t fall and crack our heads open.”

Alex laughed again. “Well, when you put it that way!” We went in to the dining room and sat down.

I looked out the window at all the snow. “Have I mentioned how much I hate winter?” I sighed.

“Every day.” Steven laughed.

“If you want I can get another scoop of sand from the spackle bucket and spread it over the floor again.” Alex offered.

I looked over at him with a confused look on my face.

“Didn’t you just finish saying you were pretending that the sand you just swept up reminded you of the beach?”

“I’m done pretending.” I said as I stirred my soup and looked out the window again. “I’m never going to like the winter sand.”

OUCH, MY BACK

I was struggling to get my bags out of the back seat of my car when my son Alex opened our front door and called out, “Are you okay?”

“I threw my back out.” I called back having a hard time reaching my purse that was on the floor of the car.

“Hold on!” He called, turning around to put on his shoes. “I’ll come help you.”

I tried to take a deep breath but when I did my lower back began to spasm. I leaned against the car waiting for Alex.

He jogged out of the house. “How’d you do that?” He asked as he took the bags out of my hands.

“I stood up.” I said as I gingerly walked up the front steps. Walking into the house I didn’t even bother to take off my coat as I tried to lower myself onto the couch.

“I don’t understand.” Alex said dropping my bags on the chair. “What do you mean, you stood up?”

“Exactly that.” I’d finally gotten myself sitting on the couch, closing my eyes, wishing my pain would go away. “I was sitting on my chair at work and when I stood up…” I tried to take in a deep breath but the spasm in my back got worse. I pointed to my back. “This happened.”

“Let me get the heating pad for you.” He said as he went to the linen closet.

“That’s a great idea.” I said trying to find a comfortable position.

“What’s a great idea?” My husband Steven asked as he came into the room.

“Mom threw her back out.” Alex called from the linen closet as he looked for the heating pad. “Found it!” He called as he came back in the living room.

Steven sat down next to me. “Do you want me to give you a back massage?”

“I’m not sure.” I said as I tried to adjust how I was sitting to ease the pain.

“Why don’t you try some heat before Dad works on your back?” Alex suggested as he plugged in the heating pad.

“That’s a good idea.” Steven agreed. “But I don’t think the heating pad is going to work with your coat still on.”

“You’re right.” I began to unzip my coat but another spasm struck. “For the love of…” I leaned back against the cushion shaking my head. “I can’t believe I’m thinking about my Mom right now.”

Steven looked confused. “Why?”

“I just remember her walking around the house saying ‘My back is slaying me!’ all the time as she held her back and headed for the couch.” I looked over at Steven. “Who uses the word slaying?” Steven shook his head.

“I used to think she was just saying that to get out of making dinner.” I went to try again to get out of my coat. When I finally did Alex put the heating pad behind me.

“Well, why don’t you use the heating pad for a little while and then I’ll give you a nice massage.”

“That sounds great.” I leaned back against the heat. “Thanks you two.”

“No problem.” Steven said as he got up and went into the kitchen. “I’ll grab the menus from the drawer. We’ll order out.” He called.

“That would be perfect.” I called back.

I looked over at Alex. “I’m not doing this to get out of cooking you know.”

Alex looked confused. “I never said you did.”

I sighed. “I know. I guess I’m just feeling guilty about thinking that’s what my Mom was doing.”

Alex kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry. We believe you.”

TENTATIVE BOOK DROP

It was a cold, rainy Saturday and I had a lot of errands to run. As I was heading to the front door I called out to my son Alex “You almost ready?”

“Be there in a second!” He called back.

I checked my watch, feeling a little bit impatient as I thought of the most efficient way to get all the errands done.

Alex came out of his room. “How long do you think we’re going to be out?” He asked as he got his coat on.

“I’ve got about a half a dozen stops to make before we can stop and pick up lunch.” I checked my watch again. “I’m going to say a little over an hour?” I shrugged my shoulders letting him know it was definitely a rough guess.

Alex laughed. “Let’s see how close that estimate is.”

Driving to our first stop, not far from the house, I pulled into the back parking lot of a church. Putting the car in park I left the car running and putting the windshield wipers down to intermittent.

“Okay, this is our first stop.” Getting out of the car I went and opened the back door, grabbing a bag of clothes ready to be donated. “I also have a bag of books I’ve read.” I looked over at him and smiled. “Luckily the donation bin for that is right over there in the same parking lot!”

“Good.” Alex reached over and adjusted the heat. “Two errands done in one stop.”

“Exactly!”

I jogged over to the bin and tossed the bag of clothes in. Getting back to the car I reached in for the bag of books but the bag ripped and the books spilled onto the floor.

“Darn it!” I cried as I began picking up a few of the books. “Now I’m going to have to make a few trips.”

Alex opened his door. “Do you want some help?”

“No. I’m good. No use both of us getting wet.” I took the first armload of books to the bin and began dropping them in a few at a time. But then stopped when I saw the cover of one of the books and realized I didn’t want to donate it just yet.

Clutching it to my chest, so it didn’t get wet, I hurried back to the car and tossed the book on the back seat.

“What’s up with that?” Alex asked pointing to the book and laughing.

“I’m just not ready to get rid of that one yet.” I explained as I began picking up more of the books that were on the floor. But now that I was questioning not donating one book I was beginning to rethink some of the other ones.

“You know this one was pretty good, too.” I held up another book. “I met the author.”

Alex leaned his head back against the headrest and sighed. “Why don’t we skip this errand and move on to the next one?”

“I’ll just be another minute.” I said but now I was standing in the rain wondering if I wanted to get rid of any of them.

I looked back over my shoulder at the book bin.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Alex cried when he saw where I was looking.

“What?”

“We’re not breaking into a book bin to get your books back!”

“I wasn’t going to do that.” I said leaving the book still on the floor and closing the back door. Climbing back into the driver’s seat. “I wasn’t!” I cried again.

Alex laughed and shook his head. “We’re in the back of a church and you’re thinking of breaking into a donation box.”

“It was a fleeting thought. That’s all.” I said as I put the car in drive.

Alex laughed again. “You’re lucky I was here to stop you.”

“What can I say?” I said slowly driving past the book box. “I love my books.”

COMFORT SOUP

My husband Steven came into the living room where I was still in my pajamas, curled up in a chair reading a book.

“What do you want to do for dinner tonight?” He asked.

I looked over at the clock. Having gotten lost in my reading I didn’t realize it was dinnertime. “Wait.” I was confused. “It’s only three o’clock.”

“I know but we’re on our own tonight for dinner and I thought maybe you’d like to order out.”

I threw my book on the coffee table and jumped up. “Wonton soup! Wonton soup!” I cried.

Steven smiled. “I had a feeling you were going to say that. Let’s get dressed and pick it up now and we can eat it whenever we want.”

“I’m in!” I cried as I went to our bedroom to get dressed.

Steven and I quickly got dressed and as we were passing our son Alex’s door, I knocked and called out. “We’re going to get wonton soup! Do you want anything?”

“No thanks.” I heard him say through the door. “I’m going out to dinner.”

“Okay. We’ll be back soon.” I hurried to the front hall closet and grabbed my coat.

We were always looking for a good Chinese restaurant and when Steven found this place I fell in love with their wonton soup. It was my new winter I-don’t-feel-like-cooking comfort soup. It was about fifteen minutes from our house but I considered that definitely worth it.

“Getting home before dark is a giant plus.” I said as I climbed in the car.

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Steven said as he got behind the wheel.

I rubbed my gloved hands together. “How many quarts do you think we should get?” I asked as Steven backed out of the driveway.

“Well, I’m getting a quart for myself.”

“Two quarts it is!” I reached over to turn up the heat.

Steven reached over and patted me on the leg. “Aren’t I the best husband for thinking about this for dinner?”

I looked over at him and smiled. “You are the best husband for thinking about this for dinner.” I agreed then cleared my throat. “And I’m the best wife for having cheap cravings, like wonton soup, instead of a wife who’d crave steak and tails.”

“That’s true.” Steven started to laugh. “I do consider myself lucky that you’ve always been a cheap date.”

“You’re welcome.”

We pulled into the parking lot. Steven left the car running and opened his door.

“Oh, don’t forget the crispy chow mein noodles.” I reminded him.

“Don’t worry, it comes with the soup.” He said as he closed the door.

I watched him walk across the parking lot to the restaurant, holding the brim of his hat against the wind.

When he went inside I leaned over to turn on some music. “You know, it’s simple things like this that makes me happy.” I said to myself.

I looked back at the restaurant. “Now let’s just hope he remembers to grab a few fortune cookies on his way out.”

PEACE AND HARMONY

I was sitting on the couch looking out at the snow covered ground when my son Alex came into the room.

“What are you up to today?” he asked as he sat down next to me.

“I’m hoping to have a nice calm indoor day today.” I said as I pointed out the window. “I’m not a big lover of snow.”

I saw him crinkle his nose. “What’s that smell?”

“Oh…” I held up my hand to show him my wrist that had a band-aid on it. “It’s Vicks VapoRub”

“Why?”

“I saw a TikTok video that said if you put a small amount on your wrist and cover it with a band-aid it’s suppose to help manage stress, reduce my anxiety, and have an overall calming effect on my body.”

“Is it working?” Alex asked with a laugh.

“I’m not sure. I just put it on a few minutes ago.” I reached over to the coffee table and picked up the book I’d been reading while Alex scrolled through his phone.

After reading for a few minutes I began to sniffle and my eyes started to water.

“Are you getting sick?” Alex asked, looking up from his phone.

I put my book down and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. “My eyes are burning.” I explained. “I wonder if the fumes from the Vicks is what’s bothering my eyes?”

“Well, that’s not good.”

“Oh man!” I pulled the band-aid off. “I’ve got to get this stuff off of me.” I went to my bathroom to wash it off.

I came back to the living room with a damp towel, pressing it against my eyes. “That was a complete fail.” I said sitting back down on the couch.

Alex shook his head. “Imagine that.”

“What?”

“Something you saw on the internet that doesn’t really work!”

“Hey,” I said with a laugh. “It was worth a try.”

“Was it really?”

“No. It wasn’t.” I admitted as I got up and went to the kitchen, grabbing a tissue off the counter-top to blow my nose.

“Hey, I’m going to make some chai tea.” I called out to Alex as I grabbed the kettle to fill it with water. “Do you want some?”

“No thanks.” He called back.

I came back into the living room waiting for the water to boil.

“Is that your next experiment for calming?” He asked. “Chai tea?”

“Oh, this one isn’t an experiment.” I leaned back against the cushions and put my feet up on the coffee table. “I already know it works.”

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON

“Oh, come on!” I cried as I sat down on the couch after cleaning the kitchen and saw another section of our Christmas tree lights had gone out. “What’s the deal with you?”

“Who are you talking to?” My son Alex asked as he walked into the living room.

I pointed to our tree. “Another section went out! I’m really starting to hate this…” I held my hands up to do air quotes for “pre-lit tree!”

“Well, it made it past Christmas.” Alex tried to reason with me.

“No, it didn’t!” I said as I got up and went to the hall closet, reaching up on the shelf where several boxes of Christmas tree lights were stacked. “I’m glad I got a few boxes of these at the beginning of the season.” I opened the box, plugged the light into the middle of the tree and began wrapping the new lights around the burnt out sections.

“Can you grab the other end of this?” I asked Alex as I held out the bulk of the lights while trying to weave them around the already hung ornaments.

“Sure.” Alex took them while I, inch by inch, tucked them around the branches.

When we were done I stood back to see if I’d gotten all the right sections. “It’s so ridiculous!” I complained. “This is only the third year for this tree!”

I was shaking my head as I went over to fix the position of some of the lights. “I knew getting a pre-lit tree was a mistake.”

“Hey, I was with you and Dad when you bought this.” Alex sat down on the couch putting his feet up on the coffee table. “Don’t you remember we couldn’t find one that wasn’t pre-lit?”

I sighed as I sat down next to him. “Why is it that they keep making things that, at first, seem like they’re better but instead they turn out to be a cheep version of the original?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Progress?”

I had to laugh. “Progress.” I too put my feet up on the coffee table leaning back against the cushions.

We heard the key in the front unlock and felt a blast of cold air sweep through the room.

“It sure is cold out there!” My husband Steven called from the foyer as he unzipped his coat and put it in the front hall closet. “What are you two up to?” He asked as he came into the living room.

“We’re just sitting here enjoying the tree.” Alex said.

Steven stood next to the couch. “The tree really looks great.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “You know I really didn’t think I’d like this tree, but it seems to be working out great.” He patted my shoulder before heading into the kitchen. “What are we doing for lunch?” He called.

“The crock pot had chicken soup ready for you.” I called back.

Alex leaned over to me. “He doesn’t know that the lights on the tree keep going out?” He whispered.

I shook my head. “He knew about the one strand that went out before Christmas but you jiggled the wire and it came back on.” I looked over my shoulder to see if Steven was still in the kitchen. “After that I’d just fix it before your Dad came home.”

Alex looked confused. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s all part of keeping the Christmas magic alive.”

“What?”

But before I could answer further Steven came back in the room holding a mug of chicken soup, blowing on the surface before taking a sip. “What can I say…” He said as he put the mug on the coffee table and sat down next to me. “It’s another year and another great Christmas.” He leaned forward and looked at Alex who was sitting on the other side of me. “Am I right?”

“You’re right.” Alex agreed.

I turned to Alex and smiled. “That’s why.”