It's a different Christmas, to be sure, but our tree is up, and most of our ornaments are on it. This year, Jared's ornaments are not on our tree, but are put aside for his family's tree. It's bittersweet.
Every year when the boys were little, I would take them out on the first day of Christmas vacation for a special day. We'd start first thing in the morning, stopping sometimes for a breakfast sandwich at McDonald's. Then we'd start our day, shopping and looking at Christmas decorations at the local mall. The boys were always allowed to look for a special ornament each. They could pick whatever they wanted, and I didn't care what they got.
Jared got on a run with food-themed ornaments for a while. We have a hot dog, a kiwi, a watermelon slice, and a pear. They're beautiful ornaments, too, lifelike and some dusted with crushed crystal.
Sam was more eclectic in his tastes. He chose a polar bear (and no matter how you hang it, it always shows its butt), a Santa, a gorgeous beaded ornament with swags of gold, and he swears the hot dog is his ornament, along with the pickle. He has his own tree with Emily, but being sentimental, he likes the idea of his ornaments living on our tree for the time being.
Once the boys (yes, even though they're in their 30s, I still call them that) got too old for our Ornament Trips, I still got them each an ornament every year. One year, I got Jared a rainbow trout to mock his fish phobia, now outgrown. Another year, a glass dragon for Sam, who was into dragons and Asian designs.
As you can see from the photo above, my love for cows has made it onto our tree. There are at least a dozen cow ornaments of various kinds, and I love them all: my puzzle cow, my Rudolph cow, my Florida cow (in Bermuda shorts and sunglasses), and my cow made by a fancy china company (I forget which one...Lenox? Haviland?).
Today on my walk, I was going to take the teeny tiny bird's nest that I see every day out of its little tree. I wanted to put it on my Christmas tree. It looked especially cute today with its topping of snow; we had a gorgeous frosting of it early this morning that coated every branch but left our roads and sidewalks clear. The nest looked like a miniature cheesecake sitting on the bough of the baby oak. I decided not to take it away, but leave it there, ornamenting the tree it was already in. Why tamper with the Perfection Of Nature?
This Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever holiday you may celebrate or observe, I hope you remember that it's the Love Behind It that really matters. Everything else is just Decoration.
See you in the New Year,
Nance
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I've been blessed having you as a blogging friend- be safe and healthy.
ReplyDeleteAnni--What a lovely thing to say! I'm glad to have you in my blog community, too. Be well and enjoy your Christmas.
DeleteSome birds reuse their nests year after year so unless you know what kind of nest it was, it was good that you left it in place.
ReplyDeleteI really love the tradition you had with your son's getting their own special ornament each year. I bought an ornament for my nieces and nephew every year for the first 12 years of their lives...just the flat metal ones with their names on them. I was surprised recently to learn they still hang them on their trees after all these years. I love your cow!
Jean--It was always a wonderful day for us, being together and seeing what ornaments ended up on our tree at the end of it. We always had such fun. It's a fond memory for all of us.
DeleteIt's nice that your nieces and nephews have kept your ornaments and place them on their trees. They love their aunt, obviously.
I love that cow, too, as I do all of mine. My six-year old granddaughter is quite captivated by the volume of cows on our tree.
I always refer to my daughter and two boys as "the kids" even though they range from 23 to 33 years old (I got a late start). I love that you let each one of your boys pick an ornament ever year. I always planned some kind of homemade ornament to make each year with mine. They all have them now for their own homes. I just gave the youngest his a few days ago, definitely bittersweet. I'm glad you left the little bird nest Nance. A very Merry Christmas to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteMartha--We used to paint ornaments, too, every year. And there were always the ones they made in school. Luckily, our trees were always enormous and could handle the volume of ornaments hung in its branches. Neighbors used to actually stand on their porch to watch us get the tree in the front door! Some years, I actually wondered if we'd make it.
DeleteI know you have your Christmas figured out for this strange year, and I think it sounds terrific. Enjoy it. If I lived in a warmer climate, it sounds very like what we'd be doing.
Love your tradition of the tree ornaments! Family traditions are the glue that holds us together through the tough times. So hard this year having to forego physical contact, but if all goes well with the vaccine--- next year we'll all be able to celebrate together in 2021. I just found out that my niece, who is a nurse in an ICU Covid unit, just got her vaccine today. She posted a photo today on FB with the tagline "Science fights back!" And on that note, I wish you and yours all the very best for the year to come! XXOO
ReplyDeleteOrtizzle--But so many of our family traditions are having to fall by the wayside this year, and it's difficult to lose them this way and hard to think, "It's only for this year." That's what drives people to throw caution to the wind and gather anyway. It's frustrating.
DeleteBless your niece for the important work she is doing. This vaccine gives us all hope, and I look forward to being able to get it myself. Here's to Science not only fighting back, but making a much needed comeback in 2021.
XXOO
I love your ornament tradition with your boys; very sweet memories. You have cows, I have bees and butterflies on my tree-shocker, I know. :0
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family!
BB Suz--Add birds to your tree, and you can call it a Sex Ed Tree! LOL.
DeleteEnjoy Christmastime (in Georgia?)!
Dee--Thank you. I'll be glad for both, and look forward to 2021 with all my online friends.
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable cow. The ED has a fish themed tree, what else for two fish physiologists? I give the grandkids an ornament each year. When I was a little girl, just after WWII glass ornaments came back on the market. I bought my mother a beautiful frosted gold glass ball and I still have it. Battered but intact. When my mother died, my girls split her tree ornaments as my dad did not want to have a tree. I got some back, as well. A few years later one Christmas our tree fell over and a lot of those ornaments got smashed, to my great sorrow. But the gold glass ball hangs in there.
ReplyDeleteMary--I'm glad you still have the gold ornament. I have only two little ornaments from my childhood trees, vintage ones that my father had saved from his childhood trees. They get places of honour on the top of our tree. I always had one favourite ornament throughout my childhood, but it now hangs on my sister's tree.
DeleteI love the old German ornaments. So pretty.
If you look at my blog header, you can see the gold ball on the left side, toward the bottom.
ReplyDeleteMary--I do see it! I like tinsel, too, as you do. I think it finishes a tree. But this year, we are going without. I am letting Rick have his preference.
DeleteThat photo is from a few years back. We now have twisted wire tinsel as I refuse to struggle with the plastic stuff. In the (snicker) good old days, the tinsel was heavy, like lead, and hung well.
DeleteLast year I downsized to a smaller tree so I took all of the kids' ornaments and gave their individual ornaments to each of them in a ornament storage box. They also picked from the pile of ornaments that wouldn't fit on the tree so they could add to their own decorations. My kids are 31 to 41 so it was time for them to have them. I enjoyed how they still cherished those old ornaments that bring back so many memories.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!
Ellen--That sounds both practical and loving. It's always nice to know that your sentimental mementos are living happily in another family home.
DeleteWe've downsized to a bit smaller and an artificial tree as well. The boys aren't thrilled, but they understand. It's tough to see your fondest traditions and memories change.
I hope we all enjoy a wonderful holiday and look to a calm but joyous 2021.
I have done the same thing with my boys, it was usually about what they were interested in, Star wars, Elmo, Teletubbies, Blur from Blue's Clues. I now do this with Little Buddy. I believe Santa will be bringing him a character from the movie Onward, but I can't be certain because who knows what Santa will bring? Stay safe Nance.
ReplyDeleteMeredith--Oh, I loved the Teletubbies! So weird, but so simple and calming. I had them in my classroom at school, too.
DeleteEnjoy your Christmas with your family and with Little Buddy, who will make it all the more magical.
Wish I had time to contribute something fascinating, but let me just say thank you for being you and sharing it, and merry Christmas to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteYahoonski--What a lovely sentiment, and I am happy that you found your way here to the Dept. Merry Christmas to all of the Yahoonskis everywhere. Thank you for your kind compliment; I cherish it.
DeleteAnd I love your blog Nance. So honest, So real. This will be a different holiday Christmas. But, I am thrilled that our family is healthy . I actually felt relieved after my counselor told me to just forget about the two presents I LOST this week. I swear they went into the garbage with other wrap and cartons. I've been looking like a lunatic. She just said, "Kathy, they are gone. They are where they are supposed to be." Even if they are in the county trash bin? She said, YUP. Let it go! They were inexpensive and it is ok, cause someone ELSE said to! :) Works for me.
ReplyDeletekathy b--Thank you, kathy. I think the best gift we can give anyone is our authentic self. One of the quotes my late father loved most was from Shakespeare: "To thine own self be true/And it must follow, as the night the day/Thou canst not then be false to any man."
DeleteOne of the most valuable things I learned in the past two years was that very lesson--Let It Go. For years and years, I struggled to control every single thing I could. I was used to being in control in my job as a teacher and as a mom. I fought to exert that control in other facets of my life, and foolishly thought I could, by sheer force of will, make EVERYTHING bend to my will. Of course, it began to ruin my life. I was never really happy. I was always striving.
Finally, I had to give up and Let It Go. I realized that most stuff isn't in my control. It's way above my pay grade. I live more spontaneously and accept things that I can't change. And I realize that my sons are grownups who have their own lives and my job there is finished.
It's hard at first, but then it becomes so liberating. Those presents? Oh well. At least they weren't a $300 watch or $100 pair of earrings. And if they do happen to turn up in an odd place someday, part of your shopping is already done! It's not a personal failing that they went missing. Shit happens.
Enjoy your Christmas, whatever shape it takes. We have our health, too. Thank goodness we haven't lost that! ;)
I usually find the lost presents the next year, but once I did locate the granddaughter's on Christmas Eve. By accident, totally. Christmas comes just the same.
DeleteNancy and Mary, thanks! I actually hadnt lost the gloves for Fireman. I thought they had arrived. But they came yesterday? SO weird. Letting it go is a good motto. My kids are growns and my job too as mama bear is done. THey are well able as my Irish pal says. Enjoy the Holidays Nance. Love ya
Deletekathy--Hooray for the Present That Was Not Lost! Love to you, and relax and enjoy this holiday in your ease and serenity.
Deleteno truer words....and with any luck, that love this year will last a bit longer into the new year than it often does. I thought the post 9-11 feeling of unity would last, but memories are often too short or too egocentric. Maybe this time. I'm a pollyanna, so there.
ReplyDeletesteph--I see you're thinking more nationally/globally than I was, but your point is taken.
DeleteMuch of the by-product of the current administration has been negative, but it has spurred a great deal of individual counter-response of tolerance, inclusion, and positive change. Likewise the pandemic response: while 45*'s response has been anemic and awful and full of denial, sowing doubt and backlash against science, many communities and people have come together and worked to care for each other, donating money and food and time to those truly in need because of the virus's collateral damage. I hope, along with you, that the Goodness is what prevails and stays. I think the leadership of a good, honest, sincerely compassionate man like President Joe Biden will only help in that area.
And those of us who are Kind Always must redouble our own efforts and lead the way.
I don’t know what happened to my mom’s ornaments...if the cats destroyed them, if they were thrown away when my brother and SIL packed up her house, or if she had gotten rid of them at some point. I don’t remember being fond of any of them, so I guess it doesn’t matter. Would be nice, just knowing I had one on my tree. I’ll have to remember that with my dad’s things, to ask my step mom...
ReplyDeleteThe ornaments on our tree were mostly bought when I was 21, my first Christmas on my own. My friend Janet was working over Christmas at Macy’s and got me the employee discount, and I spent more than I should have because I had a credit card. That’s a lesson it took me many years to learn, not to spend more than I had. Anyway, we’ve received some over the years as gifts, and if I see one I love at the store I will buy it, but we have zero traditions around it. Our little tree is small, so not all of the ornaments we have will fit. Assuming Maya can afford to move out someday, we’ll get her started by giving her whichever ones are her favorites.
I’m fond of Donald Duck, so we have several DD ornaments, but it’s not a theme or anything.
J--Macy's always had a gorgeous Trim-a-Tree department, and many of our ornaments came from there. In fact, it was usually our first stop. Unfortunately, our mall is now a ghost mall with no anchor stores at all. Macy's left, Sears left, JC Penney left, Dillard's left, even Best Buy left. I have no idea what's there besides an indoor playland. Obviously, we go elsewhere to shop.
DeleteWorld Market became a go-to for ornaments for years, and they left a popular shopping center recently for a little more stylish address closer to Cleveland. I was sad about that; I wine shopped there and got a few international foods there.
I love the idea of Donald Duck being your Personal Christmas Ornament Statement. I never would have thought! :)
I love your cow! As you might imagine, my tree is overrun with penguins. I have some ornaments from childhood/early adulthood that were gifts to me, but my mother didn't have a tradition of getting ornaments for my brother and me each year. She definitely made up for it after we were married though - she always tried to get us a Hallmark ornament with the year on it.
ReplyDelete(Note: rereading that, it sounds like I was saying that my brother & I married each other. Not true! Even if technically I lived on the edge of Appalachia. And that was a TERRIBLE stereotype!)
We have canceled our family get together this year. It just felt too risky. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and can find some comfort in the difference, and in the hope that next year will be different.
Bug--I love my cow, too. I hope you give equal tree space to sheep for The Professor.
Delete(I knew exactly what you meant and didn't think anything untoward or incestuous was implied.)
We've also cancelled the usual big family scene, very regretfully, of course. We all know why, and we all understand the necessity of keeping ourselves and others safe. My mother, age 90, is the most regretful of all. This has been so difficult for her.
"Next year!" is our rallying cry.
Enjoy your Christmas and join me in looking forward to a much better and brighter 2021.
That is a beautiful cow ornament, Nance, and I love hearing about your family's other ornaments and the memories that go with them. All of our ornaments were lost due to the house debacle. In hindsight, we might have been able to save some but there was no time to do so. I'll be honest; it's sad. There was so much history--so many beloved moments--in those ornaments. We had given Bo an ornament every year to eventually put on his own tree. We have two ornaments left, one that was with my Christmas lights upstairs and another one that was given to me last Christmas.
ReplyDeleteYour mention of the bird's nest brought some lovely images to mind. Before and after Smokey and I were married, we raised finches. Before, we were married Smokey loved letting them out in my apartment. One year I had a Christmas tree up and one of the finches found a real bird's nest in my tree (thankfully, one that had been abandoned long ago) and sat in it. It was an adorable moment. Another time and another year, one of the finches went into the Christmas tree and sat right next to one my bird ornaments. It was not a hanging ornament but a realistic-looking bird with faux feathers that actually was attached by wire to the branch. The faux bird and the real finch made a very sweet pair!
Merry Christmas, Nance! We'll all continue to embrace it as best we can, even under the challenging circumstances. I know I still owe you an email but 2020 keeps on 2020-ing. ;-) The email will come.
Shirley
Shirley--I love your finch stories. I'd have let the finches loose as often as practical, just to see them settle in my Christmas tree. Rick and I had a little white finch when we were first married. It had escaped a pet store in the mall and some friends had captured it in the shoe store where they worked. They were relocating and didn't want to take it with them. That finch adored Rick and sang beautifully whenever he came home from work. It even laid little eggs now and then.
DeleteWe bought another one when Jared was little, a temple finch. He loved singing to it. It was unwell, however, and did not last even a year.
The sweet little bunny ornament you got me years ago is enjoying a place of honour at the top of my tree this year. It is bringing me Joy, as does my friendship with you.
Call or write anytime. Our friendship is not on any schedule. You are always in my thoughts. XXOO
Lovely memories with all the ornaments. I still remember our ornaments from when I was young. We had to part with many items some years later when we relocated across country into a small house trailer our car pulled so little space for keepsakes. Do have a Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteJoared--And Merry Christmas to you.
DeleteLeaving behind ornaments is sad, but in truth, they are just that--ornaments. You still remember them and the times they represented, and that's the important part.
Merry Christmas Nance!
ReplyDeleteAnni--Thank you. It was lovely. Hope yours was, too.
DeleteJust found you whilst blog hopping! Love this post so much! So lovely to hear of your family traditions 😊 Feel free to visit me at emeraldcottage.blogspot.com, the kettle is on!
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great Christmas xxx
Jill--Hello, and welcome to the Dept. We did, thank you. I hope you did, too. See you soon.
DeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteas the year ends I want to thank you for the blogging you give to us. It takes effort and care to choose words wisely and to acknowledge the vulnerable side of ourselves that blogging entails. I find our community most supportive. Thank you for the work you put into your posts. I laugh and I cry when you share your thoughts. Thanks !
Unknown--Thank you for your very kind words, and for recognizing that, at least for me, writing posts here does take considerable care and effort. Only my best work shows up here at the end. Often, what I share does cost me some privacy and armor. But, as you say, my community here is incredibly supportive and equally honest.
DeleteI'm glad to know that my work here evokes responses from you. That means I'm writing well. Thank you for your comments and continued readership. I'm glad you're with me. See you in a few days for more.