As we turn the corner into the Christmas season the stores are suddenly in the spirit. Decorations and holiday necessities are everywhere to help us get in the mood. At our house, we won’t decorate for some time yet as we prefer to saunter into the holidays at a leisurely pace. Even so, I enjoy seeing the Holiday items on display. Mostly, what I observe brings back fond memories of Christmas past. Yesterday, as I went through the grocery store checkout I saw some good-sized poinsettias on display. They made me smile. I used to buy a poinsettia every year for my mother-in-law. It started many, many years ago. The first year I found a very nice plant which she appreciated. The next year I found a slightly larger one. Each subsequent year I would search far and wide to get an ever larger one. It wasn’t long until I had to buy two good-sized plants and then re-pot them to make an acceptable display. Joy would always make a protest, and insist I didn’t need to bring such a big flower. But the game was on. I found a local grower and made arrangements to have him save the largest plants so I could always top the previous year’s gift. They became so large I had to haul them in the back of our van. My mother-in-law was always wondering how I could find such amazing poinsettias. Although I have no doubt she suspected my carefully planned schemes it was a fun tradition that was one small way to celebrate this wonderful season.
