As a child, I would be so excited to rediscover all those ornaments that had been tucked away for so many months. Each one had some special story or memory waiting to come to life again.
The kids have received lots of ornaments over the years, but this year I realized I didn'tever hear their stories. They are always excited to get them out and they have favorites, but I wanted to hear their stoires. Sometimes you just have to get the ball rolling. Amazing how a simple question can let the flood gates of memories open.
Boy 1: A glass santa ornament given by our sweet old neighbor lady (a.k.a. The Cookie Lady). We were returning something to her that we had borrowed when she surprised the kids with the ornament. We have moved away from her now, but we will always have precious memories of her love and kindness.
Boy 2: The "ZuZu Ornament". Every year, we enjoy watching "It's a Wonderful Life" together as a family. A couple years ago, we were able to meet "ZuZu" at a local Christmas fair. She had all sorts of memorabilia from the movie. After much consideration, we chose "ZuZu's Petals", a picture of her and Jimmy Stewart on her bed with the petals. If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Girl 1: A frosted glass ballerina. I knew immediately why. It was a gift from someone who came into our lives with great hope, but now only faded memories of what could have been linger in this little girl's heart. Tears were shared and arms embraced. Bonds were strengthened and walls came down.
Christmas is the most wonderful time of year.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at fellow bloggers who listed Flywheel in their profiles and found you. Your blog is lovely.
I love the pictures of you playing with the magnifying glass a few posts down. That is something that would have happened at Great-Grandma's house when she was still living.
Becky K.