HNTree

Or rather, not a tree. For the second year in a row, I have a Festivus Pole instead of a Christmas Tree. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that lump of black fur you see with his paw on my nose. He's the biggest troublemaker of the bunch, although the other kitties probably would also take a shot at dismantling any tree we put up. Click the picture for a closer view.

I used to think it would be really sad to not have a tree, but it's been at least five years since we've had one, and it's not that big a deal now. Until this year, there really wasn't room for it in our living room, and frankly, we don't spend enough time in there to really enjoy it. It's too damn cold in the winter--we like to be in bed as early as possible. And I like the uniqueness of having a Festivus Pole. Our housecleaner said we're the only people she knows who have one. By the way, did you know that aluminum is the choice metal for Festivus Poles, due to its high strength-to-weight ratio? (Fun Festivus Fact!)

I still look forward to someday celebrating Festivus properly, especially the Airing of Grievances. Before anyone gets to eat dinner, you have to go around the table and tell everyone all the ways that they've disappointed you in the previous year. I'm thinking that might be a lot of fun. That's followed by the Feats of Strength, where the host picks a guest who has to wrestle him to the floor. Good times.

I still give a little nod to Christmas by placing our Santa Dog atop the Festivus Pole. It's supposed to be bare and unadorned, but he's too cute to not put out for a few weeks. Someday, if a little J should come along and join our family and she decides she wants to celebrate Christmas, we'll put a tree up and somehow teach the cats to stay off of it (or not). I suppose I'll have to put the Festivus Pole away, because as I've been told, my main job as a father will be "to keep your daughter off the pole".

Now go see other people's Half-Nekkid Trees.