My wife and I and the bundled tots waded through deep snow all the way to the back side of the pole barn and cut the Christmas tree today. It’s not bad. A spruce, somewhat gap-py and uneven but not a Charlie Brown, not by a long shot. Took it because it was beginning to grow into the path we use to put equipment in the pole barn. Spent time beside the fire decorating and stringing some popcorn (short strings!). Now it glows. Favorite moment: I was doing dishes while my wife was putting the toddler to bed. I noticed the lights go out in the living room. Looked, and there was the nine-year-old, sitting sideways in the old overstuffed chair, legs dangling, just staring at the lit tree in the dark.