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Haiku #13
There, in twinkling lights
a Teddy Bear, nutcracker,
an angel watches.
The ornaments on the Christmas tree take me on a journey of memories. I am borrowing this idea from Linda Baie who wrote about her ornaments memories here.
I don’t know why, but I hesitate to unpack the ornaments each year. I don’t like doing it alone. So my daughter Maggie came over to help me, even though she now has a home of her own. I appreciated her help, but mostly I appreciated the impetus to get it done. In her words, “Let’s do this thing!” I turned on the Christmas CDs, and we dug in.
“Should we hang this one?” I asked. “The year you hated Santa Claus. Look at that face!”
Christmas ’88: Maggie 3.5 years, Katherine 8 months.
My husband, Jeff, has a special ornament we hang each year. His second grade teacher made it for him, sequins on a styrofoam ball, spelling out his name.
I never seem to remember where I packed my favorite ornament, the one my mother gave me from the National Cathedral when I only had two daughters. This is one of those breakable, precious ornaments that I wrap well and put away in its own box. But which bin did I put it in? After Maggie left and I was preparing to put the bins back into the closet, I gave it one more try, patiently opening and closing boxes, wrapping and unwrapping tissue paper. Then I found it. I hung it high on the tree, safe from little hands that we don’t really have around, and mischievous paws which are circling the tree as if it’s a new toy.
A more recent ornament was made by a local artist illustrating our church, The Church of the Epiphany. This ornament reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas. I look forward to singing in the loft (which once held slaves before the Civil War) on Christmas Eve.
What ornaments do you treasure year to year? Happy Holidays!
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