One of my mom’s favorite sayings is, “Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.” As a kid, I heard this a lot, especially when my sister and I would beg for something. We were persistent, and the more we begged, the more my mom would remind us of this proverb. The perfect example of this came when we begged for hamsters. We promised we’d take care of them, so eventually, after much convincing, my parents took us to the pet store to pick out our new furry friends.

Growing up, Christmas at the tree lot wasn’t just about picking the perfect tree. It was a full-blown adventure, and my sister and I were always at the center of it. Every year, we’d run through the trees, weaving in and out of the rows like our lives depended on it. My dad would count to ten, giving us a head start, and then we’d take off, dodging low branches and trying to blend in with the camouflage jackets we’d sometimes wear. As we got older, and a little bigger, the game got more difficult, and let’s be honest, less graceful, but that didn’t stop us. It became a tradition, no matter how ridiculous it looked.