It's Christmas Day and, for the first time in years, all the greeting cards were mailed on time, the presents purchased and wrapped with care, the tree watered daily to keep its green needles on the branches and off the living room floor.
The little spruce is not the prettiest Christmas tree we've ever had, but its load of adornments is the heaviest. Each year the accumulation of ornaments grows, and none is denied a place somewhere on the crowded branches among the colored lights and tinsel.
The bottom is most heavily burdened with decorations, the place where little hands can easily reach to hang their favorites. By the time it is festooned, trimmed, illuminated and topped with the heirloom angel, the evergreen's original shape is of insignificance, its imperfections deftly hidden as if by the hand of a haute couturier.
I've never been dedicated to the search for the perfect Christmas tree. A live one, yes, with fresh scented needles and fragrant sap oozing from the base.
But not a symmetrically pruned, cone-shaped cynosure whose faultless figure will soon be covered with the baubles and bulbs, its elegance disguised under a caftan of store-bought glitter and hand-made keepsakes.
Last year, however, I did find the perfect Christmas tree, a majestic live one that soared nearly 40 feet high.
So did about 10,000 other fortunate folks who managed to squeeze into the sanctuary of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Bel Air for one of the 11 inspiring performances of the Living Christmas Tree concerts. (This year's series of sold-out performances ended last weekend.)
Their bodies sheathed in shimmering green robes, with red and silver stoles, more than 100 choristers rise on a triangular steel framework and wooden platforms to form the musical tree, with a huge gleaming star hovering over the treetop.
Each tier is separated by strings of colored lights, glistening balls, silver and gold ornaments, musical instruments and, of course, angels.
The handbell choir, piano and organ, accompany the singers in rousing renditions of hymns and carols. The audience is invited to join in singing some favorite Christmas songs.
This is the 10th year for the Living Tree, which has become a holiday tradition in Harford County ever since Robert Wilson, a retired engineer from Aberdeen Proving Ground, crafted and pieced together the original tree in his driveway in 1985.
The musical celebration is always a sell-out, although tickets are free. Mail orders are accepted in October and tickets are quickly exhausted. Thousands of people are told each year that they were too late, that all the seats have been booked.
Oak Grove Baptist is a large church, with a membership approaching 2,000. But the congregation sees the Living Tree as an effective outreach program to invite more people to its regular worship services.
Planning for this centerpiece of the Christian holiday has become ayear-round effort. The concert program changes each year, mixing familiar songs with lesser known sacred music. Decorations for the tree and its base are also changed or elaborated, lighting and sound effects are improved to enhance the presentation.
The choir and soloists begin rehearsals in July, under the direction of Ken Tipton, minister of music at Oak Grove. Christmas decorations adorn the summer practice room to get singers into the winter holiday spirit.
Betty Stewart designs the lighting and decorations for the Living Tree and the rest of the church. She also supervises the lighting crew for performances.
Mr. Wilson oversees assembly of the tree, with its built-in sound and lighting systems and a dual staircase behind the stands that permits the choir to quickly move into position. The tree is broken down into 1,000 pieces, transported from storage to the sanctuary and put together by an experienced crew.
Wiring is connected to a balcony control panel. Stands of fans are installed behind the tree to keep the choristers cool during the performances.
On performance night, about 200 members are working to make the production a success, from musicians and choir to parking lot directors and ushers, stage crews and baby-sitters.
Living Christmas Trees are a tradition in some southern Baptist churches, but the Bel Air church has established a singular reputation for excellence in this region.
Production costs run about $10,000 a year, but that is more than recovered through a free-will offering, which also goes to fund charitable projects.
At a time when commercial attractions seem to dominate the season, when lots of people will still pay a king's ransom for tickets to a performance of "The Nutcracker" ballet, the human choral tree at Oak Grove is deeply rooted in the spiritual message of Christmas.
It's an exciting vision that stirs the human soul, an impressive celebration of the holiday, a perfect combination of music and spectacle.
Mike Burns is The Baltimore Sun's editorial writer in Harford County.