Every year around mid-November, Yvette brings up the subject of The Tree. “So… what’s your plan for the tree?” She likes to plan. A lot.

I rarely plan anything because I have learned that plans rarely work out. Most of them actually fall apart faster than a made-in-China espresso machine. However, she insists that this is the nature of plans and that despite their spectacular rate of failure, they are useful necessary indispensable. “Having a plan is like having a map before you embark on an adventure. You’re less likely to get lost.”

Apparently, even if it’s a lousy map. Christ on a crumpet. Remind me never to go on safari with her. She’d drive us right into a lion’s den rather than follow her intuition. Her child-like trust in man-made items like maps and street signs never fails to amaze me. (“Why are you slowing down? They have a stop sign, so they will stop.”) She is so clearly a child born in a civilized corner of the world. Continue reading The Christmas Tree Plan →