Kent ministers to a widowed neighbor, Saneh Echols. We love her. She lives with her son, Willie. Kent is someone who takes to heart the admonition to care for the widows, and has been an excellent minister to Saneh.
Saneh likes to go cut her own Christmas tree, and some time ago, expressed to Kent a desire to do that again this year. Kent thought that was a wonderful idea, and purchased tree permits for both Saneh and us. Then we needed to go. He wanted me to come along, and I wanted to go, too, but there has been the complication that I am working, even on Saturday. Tree cutting isn't really a Sunday activity, and although I suggested Kent take the kids and Saneh and go without me, in the end, we decided we should all go.
Today was the day. I worked a shorter route delivering packages, and we were able to leave just after 3:00pm. My mom joined us, and because we were six, we took her car. We prepared with tools, gloves, rope, and a tarp and headed up the canyon to go cut above Heber and Timberlakes. Kent figured that was the closest location, and given the late start, close proximity was important.
While we prepare for tree cutting, we did not adequately prepare for the weather. As we drove higher, we realized that while there was no snow in the valley, there was a fair amount in the mountains. We were all in our tennis shoes without heavy coats, and ill prepared for how chilly it was in the late afternoon as the sun was going down. We were racing against the dark, trying to find trees before the sun set behind the mountain and it got really cold.
The children gave up the hunt pretty quickly and returned to the car. Grandma Sue, too. Kent, Saneh, and I stomped around in the snow, trying to find good size trees with a good shape, the right size trunk, and acceptable looking branches. We were racing against time, making the search a bit more frantic. We would have liked more light, more time.
Before it got completely dark, we did find trees. We discovered, when we cut them, that in situ, they looked taller and fuller than they actually were. Our good-looking tree was actually two trees squashed up next to each other, and half of our tree wasn't actually our tree at all. They turned out to be pretty goofy looking. But we had an adventure, an experience we haven't had before (at least, the children haven't had the experience before), and we came away with a fresh, beautiful smelling tree that will likely be just fine once we get it decorated. And we learned a valuable lesson about time management and preparation. Next time we go cut our own tree, we will start earlier in the day, we will have boots and sweaters and heavy coats and hats and thick gloves, and we will bring along hot chocolate in a thermos.
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