I don’t like to write a lot about our own personal experiences. Even though this blog has been abandoned for some time, it is more a place for encouragement and inspiration instead of a journal for me. The last few days, however, have just reminded of how things on this earth don’t hold the value we give them.
Christmas is my favorite holiday. From Thanksgiving to News Years I relive all of my most special memories. I think about years past and present. I think about what we have done on those days and the people I have spent them with. My most loved tradition at Christmas is the day we all load up and go pick out the family Christmas tree. I will spare you the details and arguments that happen at the tree farm. Mostly a war between dad, who wants to tallest and fattest tree he can find, and mom, who wants a narrow 7.5′ tree that will actually fit into the house. One day I hope dad can get the 12 footer he has always dreamed of. We typically refer to him as Clark, and I would not have it any other way.
Once the tree has been picked, we come home and start unloading the attic of all the Christmas ornaments and decorations. I love to take out each ornament and remember the significance behind that ornament. If I do not know the history of the ornament, I always ask “Hey, where is this one from?” and then hang it on the tree to grab another and go through the same process again. It is reliving times with the ones that I love the most. Over the years I started my own collection of special ornaments. Disney ornaments, wedding ornaments, and other ornaments picked up from different travels. Opening that box of ornaments was much more than a ritual, it was no different to me than opening a photo album.
This year I have found myself searching eBay and google for the ornaments that were special to me and have always been significant. Unfortunately too much time has passed to find most of them, but in the process I realized something. Christmas does not hold the same meaning to everyone. Others do not have traditions that bring them joy. Others may not have the ornaments that light their faces up because of the memories that flood when they see it. Memories are not something that can be taken from you, good or bad. The ornaments I had where merely an object that reminded me of the memories that I still have.
Here is the inspirational realization, this is a new Christmas season and a chance to create new memories. I will forever think about the ornaments that don’t hang on my tree as a reminder of Christmas past and possibly shed a little tear, but this Christmas I want to create new memories. I want to get new ornaments that will light up my face, and even my husbands, at Christmas when we open up that box. I guess that is the part I was trying to get to all along. No matter what your past has been like, good or bad, you get the opportunity now to create new memories and new traditions with the ones you love. So, heres to new Christmas memories. Let the traditional “Christmas ornament vacation souvenir” continue!
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