All his life the Blue Spruce knew his purpose in life. From the moment his roots first felt the cool soil, until this morning when the sun warmed his exposed roots, he knew his role in the world-to be a Christmas Tree. To be part of a family’s time of enjoying in their home at Christmas. “What had he done wrong?,” he thought to himself as he swayed back and forth in the back of the moving truck. Perhaps he had miscounted and was too old to be a Christmas tree. Perhaps his silver blue color is wrong and no one wanted him last Christmas.

After what seemed to the Blue Spruce as forever, the truck came to a stop in the back yard of a small house. He was lost and confused, plus he could feel his roots starting to warm and dry out now they were exposed to the air.

The netting that the planter had bound his branches made it hard for him to breathe and see this new world around him.

As he lay there in the bed of the truck he soon felt the gentle touch of the old man who had taken him from his green meadow.

The man then did something not even the planter ever did, in a quite gentle voice he said to the frightened tree, “Don’t worry; I will take good care of you Mr. Christmas Tree.” He called me Mr. Christmas Tree. How can that be, it is only May and Christmas season is many months away. The old man puzzled the Blue Spruce.

He was still lost and confused, but he was still a Christmas Tree.

Soon the tree could hear other voices around the truck. After a few moments a couple of men climbed into the bed of the truck and stood the tree upright. Carefully the two men slid his burlap cover roots to the back of the truck.

“One, two, three, lift.” The man said as the tree felt himself raised from the truck bed. With support of the men he was moved to the middle of the small yard.

The men sat him down on the side of a hole in the yard and began removing the burlap covering his roots. Again he felt the sun on his roots as the men counted once more before he was lifted and set into the hole in the yard.

It felt good to once again have his roots covered with the cool dark earth.

A couple of the men working together pulled the netting up from his branches. “That feels much better,” he thought to himself as the branches returned to normal.

The man whose soft voice called him Mr. Christmas Tree now sprayed his branches with cool water that dripped down onto his dry roots.

The other men now loaded the shovels and tools into the back of the pickup truck and were soon gone from the back yard. Now only the man and the Blue Spruce were left alone in the backyard of this small house.

The man walked around the tree, looking at every inch of the tree. As he walked he was singing a song to the tree in a soft voice, “Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!”

The tree only knew about one thing and that was Christmas time is in December and he should be inside a house decorated by a family. These were the tree’s only thoughts as the man went into the house and closed the door as darkness fell on the backyard of the small house.

The night was different than in the meadow. There the only sounds were the animals of the forest. The stars in the sky and fireflies darting about in the quiet meadow lighted the night. In the Blue Spruce’s new world he could be see light escaping from windows onto the yard from the surrounding homes. The only sound was a barking dog somewhere in the night. It took a while but the blue spruce began to dream of his meadow home. He missed Virginia. He missed the rabbits.

The next morning the Blue Spruce was awakened by the voice of a man once again singing to him. “Good morning Mr. Christmas Tree.” He sang as he brushed the tree with a broom, carefully arranging any branches out of place.

“We have to get you looking good. You know what today is?” The man hesitated a couple of seconds and then leaned close to the tree and said in a whisper, “It is Christmas and she is coming home.”

For a Christmas Tree there is but one goal. That is to stand straight and proud on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, not May 5. Has a crazy man captured me?

Soon the old man started to open boxes that were filled with carefully wrapped glass bulbs, lights, and silver tinsel.

He began carefully arranging strands of lights around the tree’s branches-red, blue, yellow, and green lights that twinkled and shinned even in the light of day.

Next came the glass bulbs so shiny the tree could see parts of himself for the first time in their reflection.

Branch after branch slowly began to be decorated in as fine decoration as any tree ever had.

The Christmas Tree began to notice it was no longer just the old man and him anymore. People were everywhere in the small back yard. Some were decorating the wooden fence with long strands of lights. One man was atop a ladder hanging bulbs and lights from the eve of the houses roof.

Two ladies were setting pots of red flowers with yellow centers around the small yard. Singing, they all were singing the songs of Christmas.

Soon the man with the ladder finished hanging lights from the house and came over to the Christmas tree. The old man now had returned from the house and handed the man on the ladder something that glittered in the sunlight. It was the angel with golden wings. It was the angel that the Blue Spruce had dreamed of in the meadow.

Carefully the angel was placed atop of the tree’s top branch. With that the backyard of the small house began to twinkle and shine as brightly as any Christmas every had.

The day had come and was now fading into the approaching evening light. The old man stood looking at the beautiful yard that had now been transformed into Christmas. He smiled at the twinkling tree and said, “She will be pleased.”

He stood quiet for a moment, gazing at the tree’s twinkling lights as he began looking toward the golden Angel that crowned the treetop.

The old man heard the sounds of a vehicle stopping at the edge of the small yard. Before he turned to look he already knew who it was.

He straightened his sweater and turned with a smile as his children were now getting out of the van. His three daughters and son were now carefully helping their mother from the front seat.

The Blue Spruce Christmas Tree began to understand why he had been brought to this backyard at this time. He was to be part of a special Christmas gift for this family.

Carefully the frail lady made her way to the waiting chair beside the twinkling tree. The old man knelt down beside his wife who only stared at the tree. “Ann, dear, we are all here for Christmas. I have placed your golden angel on top of your special tree, like I always have.”

His wife blankly stared at the twinkling lights of the beautiful Christmas Tree. Not a word did she say.

The three daughters knelt down beside their mom as their brother removed from a faded wooden box a small nativity set. He placed each piece carefully under the branches of the tree.

He took great care to place the three legged sheep next to a wise man so he would stand tall.

The woman still stared blankly into the tree as her husband of 61 years began, “long ago in a far country a star appeared in the sky.”

The Christmas tree could see in the evening light that all the homes in the neighborhood of the small house were adorned with thousands of twinkle lights. The proud Blue Spruce now realized Christmas is not so much a time, as it is the love of family and home. And perhaps the hope through a child born long ago they shall all meet again.

Christmas Tree is very happy as the last twinkle of lights fades. He dreams of Virginia and the family of rabbits somewhere Thru The Lens.