Flashback Friday #8

This Flashback Friday is brought to you by...1985.

I thought this was an appropriate post this week since Christmas is just around the corner.  This won't be one of the classic Flashback Friday posts that makes you all nostalgic for the 80s, but rather a funny story about our Christmas tree growing up.  There's nothing like finding out you've been duped while sitting in the middle of kindergarten, drawing your Christmas tree.  I LOOVED pretty much everything about kindergarten, except the part when I peed my pants, but even that day had a pretty awesome silver lining.  That day, I got to play with the wooden blocks that were highly coveted all by myself because no one wanted to play with pee girl. Anyway, that is neither here nor there regarding this post.

I grew up raised by a single mother, my father passed away before I was 2 years old.  There was myself, and my older brother...and our Christmas tree, which was up year round, and during the month of December it would sport some holiday lights.  Our tree was a faux Cherry Blossom tree, strung with lights and ornaments with gifts strewn about below...In kindergarten one day, my teacher asked us all to draw our Christmas trees that we had at home, and me being the over-acheiver that I am, quickly got started on my masterpiece.  The finished product looked like a cross between peach broccoli and cotton candy....NOT at all like all of my classmates' green triangles.  Hmm.. what the?  I remember explaining to my teacher that this was in fact what my tree at home looked like...I remember being embarrassed about it back then, but now that I'm an adult, I am amazed at all my mom was able to pull off as a single parent, much less making a Cherry Blossom Christmas Tree work just as well. I have the best picture of me in front of a perfectly lit Cherry Blossom tree, with the biggest grin on my face...back then I'm sure my mother faced a ton of moments that truly sucked, and I'm happy to say for the most part my brother and I turned out alright.  We struggled and had some difficulties, as does any family...but looking back at that picture of the tree, I'm reminded that everything will be OK, we always "made do" and I am the person I am today as a result.

Sorry this Flashback Friday post isn't as upbeat as usual. Filthy got let go from his job last Monday, which is crap-tastic timing if you ask me.  Pile that on to our fertility struggles and just barely scraping by to make ends meet, it makes it hard to feel warm and fuzzy about the upcoming holiday.  The cards plastered with baby photos and disgustingly adorable family photos are starting to fill our mailbox and its hard to shake that little bit of dread and "lets get Christmas thing over with" feeling.  I'm just hoping that 2012 is our year to celebrate and be full of joy and life because right about now Christmas is feeling more like a chore.  Again, we'll make do.  Bah humbug.  I'll pull the candy cane out of my ass tomorrow...pinky swear.