Last year, Jason and I took the long drive out to Toogoodoo Tree Farm (I'm not sure that is spelled right). We wandered around the acres of trees and found one to bring home.

The other day, I had to confess that I did not want to do that again this year. "Why not?" asked my sweetie.

And I had to tell him the truth. I was having one of those weird neo-pagan post-hippie era moments. I felt like I'd murdered that poor tree last year. After Christmas, we put it back in the marsh to "return to nature" and it took it almost two months just to stop being green. It hurt my heart.

I told him that this year, I needed to just get some poor tree that some one else had murdered so I could give it a loving home for its last few weeks.

It can spend its last days with kittens in its branches.

Hmmmm...maybe we shouldn't put the glass ornaments on this year. Or the bead garland. Wonder if chewing on the lights could electrocute a kitten. Gosh, maybe we shouldn't even put it in the stand. Probably spend much of its time laying on the floor with two furbags pinned under it.

Perhaps this might be the year for a Christmas twig.