Picture this: a family is decorating their Christmas tree.  Every kid has their own box of ornaments, and the mother and father have one to share.  The family has one special bulb.  It was special because there were pictures downloaded of their family on the bulb.  It is all red with silver sparkly polka dots on it.  The bulb has a screen on the front of it, and that is where the pictures are shown.  All the kids liked to take turns looking at these pictures before they hang the bulb on the tree.  First, the youngest child watched.  Her short red hair leaned over the bulb as she watched intently.  She sat with her back to the table, with a candle behind her as the table centerpiece.  As she watched she was very calm and still.  There was almost no movement as she looked.  Next, the middle child watched the bulb.  She sat at the same place, with barely any movement as well.  Finally, it was the oldest child’s turn to watch the ornament.  She doesn’t like to sit still, so her wild red curly hair flew all over the place as she watched the bulb and her family decorate the tree with their ornaments.  She didn’t get to finish watching the pictures on this ornament though.  She was interrupted by her youngest sister when she shrieked, “Ella!  Your hair is on fire!”

The youngest child in this story was my little sister, Anna.  The second child’s name is Grace, and I am the oldest child; the one with her hair on fire.  This wild event started on Sunday night during Thanksgiving break.  My family and I had gotten our Christmas tree earlier that day.  We have a tradition of getting our tree, and then decorating it later that day with a glass of eggnog.  So, as the time crept closer to dinner, my sisters and I were eager to get our boxes of ornaments to start organizing them for the tree.

After we ate dinner, we jumped right into decorating.  My dad hung the lights on the tree and put the star up.  After that my sisters, my mom, and I started putting our ornaments up.  Everything was going great.  Nobody was arguing about whose ornament got to go where, and nobody had spilled any eggnog.  My sister and I were all waiting for my mom to pull out our favorite ornament.  This ornament is like no other—it is electronic.  When I was five my mom got this ornament and put her favorite pictures from that year on it.  My sisters and I take turns watching these pictures every year.  First, Anna would watch the pictures.  It takes about five minutes to watch these pictures, so Grace and I kept decorating as she watched.  It was Grace’s turn next.  Anna and I continued decorated while she watched.  It was finally my turn to watch the pictures.  As I got the bulb, I took a moment to look around.  I smiled as I saw my sisters and parents decorating.  Also, I loved the smell of the candle that was sitting right next to me as I started watching.  It was beginning to feel like Christmas. 

I was about two minutes into the pictures when I heard something that sounded weird.  It was a singeing sound.  I also smelled something that had the  burning smell to it.  I just ignored it though.  About two seconds later, I heard Anna yell, “Ella!  Your hair is on fire!”

I don’t recall seeing the flames.  I don’t remember feeling them either.  All I remember doing was screaming for my dad.  He was by my side it about one second.  I could feel him patting out the fire on my head.  I could hear him blowing out the flames as well.  When I looked up, I saw my mom’s horrified face.  The next thing I saw was my sister Grace balling.  The last thing I saw before I ran to the other side of the room was a big pile of my burnt hair.  Once I was to the other side of the room, my family and I all made eye contact for a while.  Then we busted out laughing, blindsided by the crazy event that had just taken place.

When I asked my family what had happened, this is what they had said: there were at least two-foot flames coming off my head.  They couldn’t see my face or my hair—just the fire.  Anna stated that I had leaned my hair into the candle that was sitting behind me, and that was what lit my hair on fire.  Both of my sisters thought that I was going to die.  My mom and dad were expecting severe burns, and a trip to the emergency room.  But I ended up being fine.  I had a few minor burns on the back of my head.  I did lose a lot of hair though.  It isn’t very noticeable because of how much volume my red, curly hair has.  If my sister hadn’t yelled that my hair was on fire, I probably wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late.  If my dad hadn’t been so quick to pat the fire out, I could have been seriously injured.  It is moments like these when people must remember how truly lucky, they are to have family watching their back.