My Beautiful "REAL TREE" Is NOT Making Me Sick!

OK...So my "REAL TREE" is sitting pretty and FINALLY decorated.  It is every bit as BEAUTIFUL as I imagined it to be when I saw it sitting under that tent the day before Thanksgiving.  Although "some" people thought it was perhaps a bad idea for me to get it (due to my allergies...), I was placed under its magical spell and there was NO stopping me from getting that "REAL TREE" this year.

My "REAL TREE" sat there for a week with only half of the lights on it.  You see, Robby thought that the new LED Christmas lights would be a great idea.  He explained that EVERYTHING was going that way with the "Going Green Movement".  OK...So, I wasn't really opposed to the idea of using LED lights on my "Beautiful Real Tree"...That is UNTIL I saw what they looked like! (ugh...).  As Robby began to string those lights on my tree, I noticed that they just had this dull hue to them; they didn't "Sparkle" like the ones I had decorated my front door and mantles with.  I didn't want to hurt his feelings or anything, but those lights were just NOT doing my "REAL TREE" justice.  I attempted to broach the subject in the nicest  possible way, but in the end it just didn't come out the way I intended.  He took his LED lights off of the tree and told me I could buy the "Sparkly Lights" I wanted AND put them on the tree myself.  Hmmm...OK!  That was better than having my "Beautiful Real Tree" not shine in the manner I knew it should.  I went down to the store and bought my sparkly lights (sorry, Going Green People...), however, I didn't realize how many it would take for my tree so I ran short a couple of strands.  Promising to get some more asap, I just turned those lights on and gleamed as I saw my tree begin to sparkle and shine!

After my Beautiful "REAL TREE" had been sitting there with only sparkly lights for an entire week, Robby asked me if I was ever going to put the ornaments on it.  I told him that I was, but had not had time to do so leisurely yet.  Apparently, he was anxious for those ornaments to get on there (or thought I may never get around to it...), because after I got out of the shower one evening, I came into the room to see him decorating the tree.  WOW!  Now, that was something I hadn't seen for many years; generally, I decorate the tree by myself.  I joined in with the decorating, making sure not to place any breakable ornaments on the low branches, due to having a baby in the house this year.  After we were finished, I stood back and thought how BEAUTIFUL this "REAL TREE" indeed was.

It was only about a day later that the sneezing began.  I told myself that it was only a result of the dropping temperatures outside and after all, didn't I always get the sniffles around this time of year?  As it turned out, I had a check-up with my allergy specialist the next week.  I was really feeling pretty good, what with having a "REAL TREE" sitting in my living room and all.  I was also a little proud of myself for being such a compliant patient( for a change...) as I entered his office.  I wondered if I should even disclose that I had actually chosen a "REAL TREE" for Christmas this year.  Well, I sort of mentioned it but was quick to throw in that it wasn't really causing any problems for me and after all...it would only be in my house for a month.  I must admit that he is very tolerant of me (and most of my ideas...), so handing me a Brown Bag Christmas gift,  (inhalers...), he gave me a clean bill of health and sent me on my way.

The very next day the sneezing was joined by a runny nose and slightly scratchy throat.  I was SURE this sort of thing was just going around this time of year.  I grabbed the bottle of Benadryl and jar of Vick's Vapor Rub before hitting the bed that night.  The next day a stuffy head joined in, however, I was still not about to blame my "BEAUTIFUL REAL TREE".   As I looked at the "sparkly" lights,  I decided there was NO WAY "IT"  could be causing all of these symptoms (sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough...AH CHEW!!!)

                                                           MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!