I remember the Christmases

when I made everything…

a boxwood wreath, a kissing 

ball, an apple pineapple tree,

seven different kinds of cookies,

hot fudge sauce, and bourbon

nut bread to name a few…

and one year furniture for a 

doll house. No artificial greens 

dared appear in my home! 

And now at 80,

my large and small trees

are artificial, and the greens

around my lamp post and

mailbox are fake as is one

inside wreath. The one on

the door is real only because

it was a gift! My younger self

would be appalled but my

80-year-old self just smiles

and wonders how I had

the energy to do what I did!