Sleeping Under the Tree

This is one of the boys' favorite traditions. The day we decorate the tree, we let them sleep under it. Usually this is the Friday after Thanksgiving, but we were in Oregon this year, so they had to wait a whole entire week. We don't do it on a school night because we don't want the two younger boys waking up at 5:30 when Brandon and Spencer get up to play basketball. (Yes, I know, they are crazy, 5:30 is way too early to be getting out of bed. I agree with you.)

Justin took us a little too literally on the whole "under the tree" thing. He actually started with his entire pillow and blanket under the tree branches. I could just imagine him waking up in the middle of the night, hitting his face on the scratchy branches, freaking out, and tipping the tree over on his brothers. That might have made for a memorable Christmas, but I don't enjoy making that kind of memory. Can you imagine explaining to an ER doctor how all four of your boys ended up with facial lacerations and shards of broken Christmas tree lights stuck in their hair? Not a pretty picture.

Needless to say, we explained to Justin that "under" actually means "near" in this case. He was satisfied and everyone had a restful and abrasion-free night's sleep. Who knows, we might even let them do it again this weekend.