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“Um, Caleb, that’s a bit too high,” I mutter as I take in the giant fir that reaches proudly toward the sky.
“No, it’s perfect,” he insists.
Graham lets go of my hand and walks over to Caleb. His hand coming to my son’s shoulder. They both stare up at the top of the branches.
“I think you’re right,” Graham agrees, “but we’d better measure it to make sure.”
I shake my head as he produces a tape measure from his pocket.
“Sixteen feet, give or take an inch,” he assesses.
“Will it fit?” Caleb asks.
“We might have to trim a little off the top, but I believe you found the one,” Graham says as he takes the long stick with a yellow flag on the top that Caleb snatched from a barrel as we entered the farm and raises it high in the air and waves.
A few moments later, two men arrive on a quad that has a long trailer attached to the back with a chain saw in hand.
“You want to do the honors?” one of them asks Caleb, whose eyes go round and then comes to me.
“Can I?”
“Yes, just be careful and let Graham help you,” I say.
He takes the saw in his hand, and Graham shows him how to crank it as the workers tie a thin rope around the middle of the trunk.
The sound of the saw echoes through the forest as Graham guides Caleb to the ground. As they cut through the base, the two men pull the rope and guide it down, clear of them.
“That was so cool,” Caleb cries as he turns to me. “Mom, I cut down our Christmas tree!”
I smile at him. “I see that. Good job,” I praise.
The four of them load the tree onto the trailer, and we follow on foot as they haul it back to the entrance of the farm.
A line has formed at the baler, so I walk over and purchase us all a large Styrofoam cup of cocoa while we wait our turn.
A pair of arms wraps around me from behind, and I look down to see Tucker’s face grinning up at me.
“Hey, Aunt Taeli.” He beams.
“Hi yourself, handsome.”
I add three more cups to my order, and he helps me haul them over to where his dad, Langford, and his stepmother, Isley, have joined my boys, and we hand them out.
“Looks like you guys found a fine tree,” Langford says.
“Yep, the biggest one they had,” Caleb says.
“Ah, man,” Tucker gripes.
Graham reaches over and ruffles his nephew’s hair. “I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find one just as tall.”
He looks over to his brother and mouths,Sixteen.
Langford nods.
Caleb breaks away and walks toward one of the big oak barrels.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I call.
