The tree is another tradition in our household. So are
pictures—stills and movies. One year, I made a movie using stop action (along
with Hubs’ patience) where the artificial tree assembled itself and added its
own lights and ornaments. Another year, we put our two-week-old daughter under
the tree, the moment preserved in a photo. Then there was the morning captured
on film when our nearly one-year-old son toddled around the corner and saw the tree
all lit and decorated. (One of these days, I’ll transfer those Super 8 films
onto DVDs.)
While many people enjoy spectacular “themed” trees or are so
talented that their trees look as professionally decorated as ones in stores,
ours is filled with a mishmash of ornaments. As I put ornaments on our tree
this year, Hubs made an observation. Now we’ve been married forty-one years and
this is the first time he noticed how much enjoyment I get recalling the
memories attached to ornaments—who gave it to us, when and/or where we bought
it, who made it. Ornaments from our childhood. The gold mesh ball with potpourri
made from our daughter’s wedding bouquet. Ones given to our son when he was
little.
Lest you think I have a terrific memory, I’ve written on most
of the ornament boxes the giver’s name and year received. (Is that cheating?) I
do the same with my nutcracker collection. I wished I’d written the year on the
first nutcracker my in-laws gave me. My mother-in-law didn’t know what she
started as that one nutcracker from the mid-80s has mushroomed into close to a
hundred. LOL At least I now have a home where I can display most of them. As I
sit here writing this post, I look at the tree and the decorations and the memories
keep interrupting.
Last, but definitely not least, is the nativity set. My
first one when I was single had a few plastic pieces. With small children, I
made sure the next set was unbreakable resin. Hubs even made a “stable” where
the kids could rearrange the cows, sheep, shepherds, camels and kings. But Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus always stayed inside the stable. My favorite nativity set is the
one my mother made in ceramics class. Along with reminding me of the real
meaning of Christmas, it’s like Mom is sharing Christmas with us.
No matter how you celebrate
this season, my wish for you, my readers, is peace for you, your family.
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