Oh Christmas Tree

Well, I did it. I caught myself being my mother. We were decking the halls on Sunday night. We put some nice Christmas carols on the stereo and started putting up the tree. I found myself getting tenser ( can't think of a better word!) and tenser.

"No! That can't go there" I heard the distant voice of my mother say.

"You have to put those balls on the front!" again, my mother's voice. When did she come over? Where the hell is she?

Then my mother's hand reached out and moved an ornament my daughter just put ( too low) on the tree, WAIT!!! That's my hand!!!!!!

yup, I'm a little picky I guess when it comes to the tree. My mother used to sit in " her chair" and almost guide us telepathically. We'd hold up an ornament and look at her as we placed it on the tree. We could tell by the look on her face if we were placing it in the right spot. Kind of like that hot-cold game. Warmer.....warmer.....yes! That's the spot.
Fortunately we don't have tinsel. when I was young we had to "hang" the tinsel ONE BY ONE on the branches. No random tossing....no clumps!
But you know what? We had a gorgeous tree and by the time I was 9 or 10 Mom could relax. We had it down to a science.
This year I heard my daughter tell my son ' pfft, you can't put that there, it's blocking the red light."
Ah...like mother like daughter!