A Labor of Love and Memories . . .
I just finished taking down and packing away our Christmas decorations for the season. Yes, I know it’s the 11th of January and the 12 Days of Christmas have been over for DAYS, but I’m running a little behind! Bill’s been down (literally in bed) with a really bad case of the flu since a couple of days after Christmas and I’ve been pulling “double duty” since then. The Christmas decorations just had to wait their turn.
I love packing away our decorations each year especially when I get to the part of taking the ornaments off the tree. I’m pretty anal retentive about the whole procedure and, consequently, no one bothers to volunteer anymore because they know it’s something I love to do. That or they just get tired of hearing me say “be careful”.
When our first daughter, Moriah, was born 22 years ago I started a tradition that my mother had done with my sister and I. Each year I buy a special ornament for each child (we have four now) and put their names and the year on it. I try to pick something special that coordinates with their lives that year. For example, as each turned 16, their ornament that year was a car. Needless to say over the years our ornament collection has grown and grown.
My favorite part of decorating the tree each year is unwrapping the ornaments (remember I said
I was anal retentive) and hanging them one by one in a special place on the tree. As I hang each one I remember the year it was bought, the way the kids look, the happy faces on Christmas morning - you get the picture. Then after Christmas I get to do it all over again. Taking them down, one by one, wrapping them individually in tissue paper and packing them away. All the while thinking of the beautiful little smiling faces that have grown into beautiful young adults.
A special thank you to my family for giving me the opportunity to experience this each year!
Cyndi
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