Timber!

Our poor Christmas tree. I've posted about how sad our little tree looks. Well, it's worse. Here's the story:

I was just about to start making dinner last night when I heard the awful sound every mother fears when she leaves her children alone in the living room right before Christmas: the dreaded CRASH. I didn't hear any crying right away so I knew it couldn't be that bad. Or could it? I came into the living room and found my children alive and well staring down at the Christmas tree. Ally immediately pointed to her brother and said, "He did it!"

The Christmas tree was lying on the floor with glass balls all around it a few feet away. I thought about taking a picture but didn't trust my kids to not touch it while I ran to get the camera. I told Crit to sit on the couch and had Ally help me stand it back up. With the tree once again standing we saw the full extent of the damage. A dozen ornaments were shattered into a million shards of glass all over the carpet.

I took the baby with me downstairs to get the vacuum and told Ally if she moved she'd be in some serious trouble. We came back up and Crit was once again sent to the couch. I picked up the bigger pieces and then vacuumed. And vacuumed. And vacuumed. I spent about 10 minutes vacuuming the small area of carpet that had been littered with glass. As I vacuumed, Ally kept yelling, "Could you keep it down? I'm trying to watch a show!" and the TV got louder and louder.

Now that the carnage was picked up, it was time to assess the damage to the tree. It was bad. No amount of pulling or twisting could fix the tilt. I considered not putting the few ornaments we had left back on the tree, but did it anyway. I didn't even bother to straighten the branches that were bent to strange angles during the incident.

Critter sat on the couch and didn't make a sound as he watched me clean up the mess. Then I told the kids, "Anyone under the age of five who touches the tree will sit in the naughty corner. No warnings." Crit stared at me, pointed to the tree, pointed to the corner, and then pointed to the tree again. I said, "Yes, you will sit in the corner if you touch the tree." He just kept staring at me as he started to grin. I don't know if I should trust him or not, but it looks like it's made an impact. Nobody's touched the tree all morning.

So what will happen to this much-blogged-about tree after Christmas? We decided last night that Saturday morning we will say goodbye and wish it good luck in the landfill. It's very likely the lights may still be on it when garbage truck takes it away.

Here it is. Notice the drastic lean to the left.

Yes, this is all that's decorated. These are the few ornaments we have left. Their fallen comrades are outside in the trash.