My parents just weren't able to put up a Christmas tree this year so I volunteered to go get a tree, set it up, put on the lights and help decorate it. With Dad's immobility and Mom's failing eyesight, it seemed the very least that I could do to help get them in the spirit of the season. So Wednesday night I went and got a tree and a stand, and took it to their house. Mom had gotten out all of the ornaments, including some that she had from her mother, and we proceeded to take a long walk down memory lane as each ornament brought back memories and a story. From the little stockings that the housekeeper at Mendel Elementary gave me and my brother each with a stick of gum in it from when I was in second grade, to the Santa Claus that my mother made when she was about that same age. From the little clowns that my grandmother, Mamaw, put all over her tree, to the fake gingerbread ornaments that we bought at Foley's over forty years ago....each and every one a story from a lifetime past. Some are faded and a bit tarnished and worn, but when assembled together on that tabletop tree, they blended into a collage of good, happy memories and made my folks really feel the spirit of Christmas. Mom had to put on the finishing touches and add more ornaments the next morning in the light of day as she can see better then and wanted to "fill in the holes", but in all that may be the prettiest Christmas tree I have ever seen.....just because it was decorated in love and devotion with those who have done so much for me.
Right before I left to go home, Mom gave me a shirt box with my name on it. Inside was a treasure of christmas stuff from her mother, that she had divided up between me and my brother. Some she made, some she bought at Grants or Woolworth or Foleys, but every one has her written all over it. What a priceless gift.
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