Stupid Christmas Tree

We usually get a 7 ft. tall tree. Big and fluffy, taking up the whole 6 ft. window in our living room. I have to keep the rocking chair in our bedroom through Christmas. This year I decided that I didn't want to deal with a giant tree on my own. The weather couldn't have been better for the shopping experience, but it was miserable. I was just missing Daddyman, a lot. It just didn't seem right to pick out the tree without him. I almost burst into tears a couple of times. So we bought this little 4 1/2 footer. The kids picked it out and I approved it. We got it home and Dad and brother-in-law set it up in the stand. It was crooked...VERY crooked. I don't like crooked things. I don't like slightly off-center things. This really bothered me but I didn't feel like I could nag them about it because they were doing me a favor. So I went outside to "call my mom" and finally did burst into tears. It wasn't really about the tree. It's just that he should've been there. I would've been able to tell him that the tree wasn't straight...until it got fixed. Really, I wouldn't have had to tell him. He would have known that I couldn't live with a crooked tree. Anyway, I miss Daddyman. We didn't end up putting the lights up or anything that night. The next morning, when we woke up to get ready for school, I walked into the living room and saw that stupid Christmas tree. It just made me so sad. I didn't even want to look at it. I just wanted to throw it off a tall building. Later in the day I asked the kids what they thought of taking the tree to a family that couldn't afford one, then we could buy a big fluffy one. They protested loudly saying, "He's our pet tree, we can't get rid of him!" What?!?! They had named the tree Lightning OurLastName and were determined to keep it. So Monday, after lunch, I skipped pilates and put lights on that stupid tree so it would be ready to decorate when they got home from school. They made me like the stupid tree.