The Christmas Ladder

Every year I think everyone is absolutely nuts in this town for putting out all the Christmas decorations during Thanksgiving weekend.

Then the annual Candlelight Tour of Homes takes place on the first Saturday of December and I remember why everyone decorates so early. Oops. Well our electric candles were in all the windows at least.

The annual tour of homes is a pretty neat event, since we have some pretty neat homes in this little river town. I remember when we first showed Alyssa our future home town and she said, "This looks like a movie set, like it's right out of some old movie."

There are a few old mansions and grand homes around town, two of the grandest were built by the man who built the Hershey Theater. Barb used to serve on the board of the organization that sponsors the tour, and I handled their web site, before the cancer spread earlier this past year. Who knows? Maybe someday again we'll get back involved, if they'll have us.

We caught up with the rest of Marietta yesterday by getting out for our tree and putting up our holiday decor. We don't go overboard. It's understated compared to most.

We drove north up the river a couple miles to pick out a Douglas Fir. It was bitter cold and extremely windy. Barb picked out pointsettas in the greenhouse as newborn kittens followed her every step. We did not come home with a kitten. I pretended to help the gentleman cutting and bagging our tree. And as soon as we had it in the back of the FJ Cruiser we both sped back into the greenhouse.

Back in Marietta I threw the bagged tree through the front door so I wouldn't drag needles through the house. The tree snapped into place quickly in the stand and in record time was standing proudly before our front windows.

The first string of lights was bundled neatly and layered on the tree neatly without a knot or twist in the lights at all. This was going WAY too smoothly.

I plugged the second string into the first string already on the tree. Only half the lights on the second string lit.

I analyzed the second string for a few moments, pulled bulbs from places and put them in other places, twisted that, pulled this, pretended I knew what I was doing, and then announced that these lights were garbage.

I knew it was going too smooth.

We decided to take off for the CVS in Mt. Joy and Barb ran in for more lights (and came out with a surprise box of chocolates for me...lol).

Back home we were quickly back in business. From there on out it was surprisingly smooth.

I did, once again, string lights on the "Christmas ladder." The what?!?!?

Years ago, I visited an acquaintance who was just out of school, making little money, and trying to find his way. Rather than killing a tree he really couldn't afford, he made the decision to have a "Christmas Ladder" instead of a tree. It was a six-foot step ladder, and when set-up and strung with lights looked pretty much, kind of, sort of, like a tree.

I thought it was brilliant.

When my grandfather passed away I inherited his step ladder. Ever since then I've always had a "Christmas Ladder," strung with lights, decorated with ornaments, and surrounded with gifts. It has always been both a sentiment to my grandfather and an honoring of what I felt was a genius original design concept.

My first Christmas with Barb and Alyssa, I explained the history and interest of the "Christmas Ladder." Since Alyssa made faces like she was working on the world's largest sour ball, I pushed the story further and explained to her the historical significance of the "Christmas Ladder" to my family and how it was passed down through generations (hee hee hee).

Alyssa asked if we were going to get a tree. "Why would we need a tree?" I asked her. "We have the Christmas Ladder."

Well Alyssa was convinced I was out of my mind. She discussed it with Mom, and with Grandma. I was approached with concerns that I may be involved in some type of new culture that decorated ladders during holidays.

I had to give in with my small prank. Of course we were going to get a tree. I always do. And we went out and got a great tree, and decorated it, and had a great first Christmas together.

We decorated the "Christmas Ladder" too. We woke Alyssa up early one morning for something "really important." Then sleepy eyed she stood before the ladder as we asked her to plug in the cord for the ceremonial first lighting of the "Christmas Ladder."

She plugged them in, gave out a tired laugh, and went back to bed.