They say...

They say that scent is strongly tied to memory, i believe this to be SOOOOO true!!! Today as i was gathering up my parcels, and about to leave the grocerystore, i smelled soemthing. I cant exactly put my finger on it but i belieive it was the cold air( yes it has a smell) and car fumes. It sent me back many many years. TO CHristmas time. Back to the parkinglot of the Regent Mall. We would have been there for way longer than i wanted to have been. Didnt Sarah and mom realize tonight we were getting our tree??? Mom digs in her purse at the car, as we stand freezing she looks up with a panicked sound in her voice "my keys?!?!" "MOOOOM!!!" we say lightheartedly. She of course sees them and unlocks the door. We drive through the "traffic" and pick up my dad from the office, or the Police Station where he had gotten called at the last minute. He gets in he car and we head to the tree lot, but not in silence, we are all singing our favorite christmas carols. We are by no means a grand choir but the sound of our voices brings me more pleasure than the sound of any famouse symphony. We arrive at the lot and the hunt for that perfect tree begins. I run to all the little trees and say in a linus voice " i never thought it was a bad little tree." Mom knows exactly which one will look best in the house, and always has a way of finding it. We all look at it and know its OUR tree. We load it into the car and take right home where it will "settle" in the toy room. Tommorrow night we will decorate it. I lookforward to that night jsut as much as the night b4. We put some CDs in the big brown stereo, and there is Eggnog, hot chocooate, cookies, and cashews, and of course a sense of excitment. Mom puts the lights on, taking a step back and squinting every so often. I am getting impatient and dont understand how it can take that long to put on lights. After what seems like ages she is finally finished. We then are able to put on the decorations. We all have our signature orniments. Sarah and i have our angles, and dad has the musical instruments. The trimming of the tree signifies the comencement of a great season. A season of love, happines, family and YES the annual Board party. In a few weeks we all sit around that tree and read the christmas storey and have an awesome day. One where dad doesnt have to go to work, and he stays in is pjs all morning. A day where we laugh and love, and cherish one of the greatest gifts we had that year...eachother.