I was one of those kids who felt bad if any of her stuffed animals were face down or not sitting comfortably. I talk to my plants and my car and briefly mourn wildlife road kill. I feel bad for horses and cows in fields on especially cold days. And I have to admit, it makes me a little sad to think about all the beautiful trees we chop down for Christmas every year. I wondered how I would feel about kicking our gorgeous, special tree to the curb after the holidays. It almost felt better to put a fake tree back in the garage till next year.
Felix loved our Christmas tree. Every morning when I turned on the lights, he'd say "Woah!" We'd cuddle in the chair next to it, and he'd point to the different ornaments and hear stories about them. He'd say "Hoo! hoo!" to the owl, giggle at the ornaments with his baby pictures on them, and only occasionally gently take one down so he could try to put it back up.
It would have been easier to take the tree down during nap time, but I didn't want him to wake up and be sad it was gone. (Projecting much?) So I took it down while he "helped". When it was time for me to carry the tree outside, I said , "Say bye, tree!" And he dutifully waved and said "Bye, tee. Bye, tee."
Once I got the tree outside I realized I didn't know what to do with it, so I laid it down in a space near my garage. We walk by it at least twice a day now, and every time, Felix waves and says, "Bye, tee." I suppose of all the things we can pass on to our children, an abundance of misplaced empathy probably isn't the worst.
Dang we have a lot in common. I actually say a little tiny prayer for roadkill when I see them....I even started crying on my way to work this past fall because a bird flew into my windshield on the interstate. I feel a tiny bit of guilt that right now Isaac's baby doll is laying on the cold kitchen floor. Maybe the two of us took the "treat others as you would want to be treated" a bit too much to heart!
ReplyDeleteFelix reminds me so much of Annelise. Our tree is at the curb and she says "bye" to it every time we walk. She also wants to keep the front door open so she can see the tree. I'm really hoping they pick it up soon so this little routine can end. I also had her help me take the tree down because I knew if I did it during naptime she'd be sad. She did fine, until the actual taking the tree out. She cried and kept pushing the stand at me attempting me to put it back.
ReplyDeleteAww, what a sweetheart. It's so funny how we have to rethink routine activites with them around.
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