The stoop is ready for Christmas

The sun was out Tuesday morning. The skies were blue and a cold breeze whipped through the neighborhood, threatening to dislodge the few orangish brown leaves that somehow have yet to lose their grip on the Bradford Pear tree that shades the front stoop. They’ll be gone soon, those hold-out leaves — their resolve to remain linked to life and limb at the mercy of the wintry wind.

That’s not to say that there’s no longer anything to draw your eye to our house. Flip a switch and the holiday lights I’ve draped over the box bushes out front begin shimmering in the evening. And if you look through the bay window when strolling by at night, you’ll see our colorfully lit Christmas tree standing tall in the living room.

My wife and I agree that we got a pretty good tree this year, maybe the best we’ve had in years. It has that perfect Christmas tree triangle shape. It’s nice and full and is in no danger of tipping over. Unlike so many others before it, that tree stands up straight in its stand — rock solid and steady as a sentinel. It’s also the perfect height, meaning we didn’t have to trim it to keep the star we use as a topper from scraping the ceiling.

We came by that tree through a happy accident. We bought it at the farmer’s market outside town instead of cutting it down at the tree farm we usually go to.