Delivering Christmas Greens

Every year, in early December, my mother and I set aside two or three days for marathon sessions of Christmas shopping. Mom loves the holidays and resolutely preserves her tradition of giving everyone in her large circle of friends, neighbors, and family a hand-picked gift (or two) from a proper department store in town.

We travel all around Asheville and take in the sights along the way. One stop was at Clem’s Cabin, where two guys in plaid shirts and a red truck were delivering trees for the next-day’s greens sale.

Back home, we gather the wrapping paper and tape (no bows – we take the minimalist approach) and Mom starts bringing out the presents she’s already gotten, adding to the ones we’ve just bought. I wrap, she writes the labels and checks off the name/gift on the master list.

This year, there were new people to add to the list and sadly, one to take away. The loss of Claude, my recently-departed, favorite uncle, brought pause and sweet reminiscence as Mom and I continued wrapping.

I’m a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to the holidays, but I get nostalgic over memories of good times with family and friends, and old-fashioned sights like red trucks delivering Christmas trees. I’m like my uncle Claude on that.