The Phillips Family Christmas Tree: “originally written as a facebook note”

Thirty-four years ago, I was living in Houston, TX with my husband Randy and our young son Jay. It was Christmas time and we could not go home because I was great with our soon to be born son, “James.”  We had lost our son, David, the January before and this pregnancy was especially delicate and of great importance to the entire family.

My husband did not want to spend money or time on a tree, so my son Jay and I made a Christmas tree out of the long cardboard tubes from wrapping paper. The makeshift tree was not an adequate structure for ornaments and fell over.  After many tears and guilt over no tree, my husband relented and decided to allow the purchase of a tree. It was Christmas Eve when the decision was made and by…