Saturday I was part of the team stringing lights on the towering tree outside the convent. I don’t know exactly how tall it is, maybe 50 feet. It required an industrial lift and half a dozen ladders, 5 huge extension cords, about 15 people, and countless strands of lights. Somehow, in the midst of it, I found myself assigned to the task of “quality control,” standing on the ground and watching to see if the lights are evenly distributed or if there are gaps. I am a self-professed light freak. I use 12 strands just for a living room Christmas tree. Every branch should have lights — and not just draped across but strung in and out of the tree from the trunk so the light comes from the inside. About 5 minutes in, I realized this would never work for a tree of such size! (Actually, I think it was pointed out to me) Swallowing my (strong) opinions, I laughed inwardly at the oh-so-real and un-holy issues of Christmas that sometimes seem to dominate the preparations despite our best efforts. In a Community of 300 plus, there are at least 300 opinions on everything from colored vs. white lights, tinsel vs. no tinsel, home-made eggnog or store-bought, and whose creche will go on the mantel this year. The Convent tree looks beautiful (and I still have our tree at home to string with 12 strands of lights!)
