One of the things I love about Indianapolis is our Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument, which is located in the center of the city, inside a roundabout.  On the Friday after Thanksgiving, they “light” the tree, which is composed of stringed lights from top to bottom. It’s quite lovely.
When I was a child one could ice skate on Monument Circle at Christmastime, but they did renovations decades ago, and now there’s no longer a rink.
The spirit stays the same. The tree of lights, the lighted trees, the horses & carriages, the decorations on the circle and the businesses surrounding it — all really can evoke a feeling of childlike wonder.

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been saying we needed to go to Monument Circle to see the Christmas tree. It’s a tradition. Is it possible to live in Indy and not see the Christmas tree downtown? I don’t think so!
The girls have no memory of the tree, so they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
I could imagine their little girl brains, wondering what’s so special about a Christmas tree, or why I’ve made such a big deal about it. Probably just summed it up as, “That Mama, she’s so weird sometimes.”

*giggles*

So, this evening, we went to the Starbucks for a cuppa, and then The Mister drove us downtown. When we turned the corner, facing the circle, I said, “Voila!” and the girls said, “WOW!” and “Oh my gosh!” Moo even gasped.

*giggles*

Mothers love the sound of delighted children, you know.

The Mister dropped us off and we walked onto the monument, the girls ran up the stairs, while I counted my blessings and snapped a few pictures. The snow was comin down pretty hard, so most of my photos didn’t turn out.

This is a professional photo of what it looks like on an average day:

This is another professional photo taken when it’s lit (although this one is from a bygone era, where you can see the ice rinks):

This is my photo of what it looked like tonight, while we stood in front of/under it:

I was just as awed as my children.