The Littlest Christmas tree.

When you are young no time is more special then Christmas. How I and my three siblings Larry, Karen and Laura looked forward to it.

In our small town of Lester Iowa the season kicked off when the Christmas trees arrived at J.D. Chamberlain's lumber yard and hardware store. J.D.s was a fixture on main street his main building being cement block which my Father told me were cast by hand from molds mail ordered from Sears and Roebuck The trees arrived and were set out in front for all to see, my youngest sister Karen and I begged our father Duane to buy one.

I do not recall how long it took to persuade him, days or weeks, but I do remember looking them all over with Dad in tow. A small one caught our eye, short needled not over four and a half or five foot tall. Dad grabbed it with a strong hand stamping the trunk on the pavement to shake out the snow and get and idea of it's spread. We fell in love with the little tree.

Once home we set it up in the corner of our living room and over the next day it's branches spread.

Typically one side of a tree has a bald spot, a missing branch. Common practice is to set the ugly side to the wall. Our little tree was absolutely perfect no matter from what side it was viewed. Karen and I being the youngest were so proud of it. We simply beamed when company came, could not wait to tell the story of finding our tree, to show them how perfect it was. I remember Dad and Mom smiling as we told our story.

At the time I thought they were proud of the tree also, now at 66 with children, and grandchildren, of my own, I realize they were not so much proud of the tree but of us kids for being so happy with it, proud of us being so pleased with such a simply thing.

Christmas over our little tree was set outside in the snow where it was covered with popcorn strings the the ground around it covered with old bread heals, this for the birds to feast on.

For the past two weeks running up to this Christmas of 2017 not a day has gone by I don’t think of our little tree and how special it made our family’s Christmas back in 1958.

Times, events, as a child, are like seeds scattered on the ground. Many never germinate, others sprout soon to fade away. But sometimes the least likely grow and grow into a wonderful memory we can carry and cherish our entire life.

It is the time of year to remember one of our most important jobs is to scatter those seeds, and to not be discouraged when sometimes they do not grow, to have faith, absolute faith, that some of them, as always, will live on long after we are gone. Merry Christmas to all.