(342/366) Christmas Bear Tree

7

December 7, 2012 – When I opened a trunk at Mom’s place before we left, I discovered the teddy bear collection. She used to put together the most amazing Christmas Teddy Bear Tree. She started collecting bears years ago. She called it the Bear Rescue since most came from thrift shops. Presumably she had to find a reason to justify keeping them or get rid of them. This was her solution. And a pretty wonderful solution it was.

We packed all the bears up, grabbed the artificial tree in her basement, and took it all to Vancouver.

Although I have absolutely zero Christmas Spirit this year, and haven’t done a single thing for the holidays – no gifts, no cards, no baking, and until now no decorating (how could I have, I basically missed the month of November altogether), the tree went up.

I usually get stressed – but I love Christmas. This year I am just dreading it completely. I have no interest in parties, in socializing, in anything to do with it. There are three Christmas events tomorrow – Kirk’s staff party, my staff party, and an event at our yacht club. Kirk feels he has to go to his staff party, but I can’t find it inside me to attend any of them.

Even so, Kirk dragged the tree out of the box last night and we put it together. It’s beautiful, her collection is wonderful and I am sure there is a story to every one of them, though I’ll never know. There is one bear in there that she sent to me a couple of years ago when I started riding the scooter. It’s a biker bear. It has been reunited with its friends on the tree.

So, here is Mom’s fabulous Christmas tree. My contribution to it was the silk poinsettias that I found in her basement and cut apart to tuck in the branches between bears.

I hope you enjoy it, it just makes me want to cry when I look at it.