all packed and ready for next season
the tree was more work, emotionally, than I expected and prepared for
this ornament, one of the first I removed, was the primer for the onslaught
it was one of Bill's favorites
he took great joy in placing it on the tree
we've had it for years
it is glass
I'm not sure how it survived all the kids and grandkids
it is a simple icicle design
but now it reminds me of a teardrop
then there were the other ornaments chock full of memories:
his train
the "dough" trees with all of our names written on them
several handmade "mommy" and "daddy" ornaments
a flat, wooden baseball with his name on it, a gift from one of his players
it took me longer to pack the ornaments
than it did to put away everything else combined!
I did something new as I was packing them
I took the time to look, really look, at them
and before I stored them
I made decisions that will affect next year's decorating
rather than once again putting them "as is" in the shoebox
some needed their strings replaced
so I hunted up my gold thread and used it to make new loops
one needed a spot of glue
and got it
two needed a small eye hook
and I searched until I found the ones I had on hand
some needed to be retired
they are in a ziploc for the kids to look at before they get pitched
walking memory lane took a lot of time and energy
I'm glad it's done
it was a good day
hard
exhausting
but a good hard and the effort was well spent
When Carole died in September 2018, I was not looking forward to Christmas. Since then Christmas has been different. The decorations Carole loved get put out, like the socks the boys made for us. Nativity that was her mom's. Pringle Santa can that Don, Jr made. But I couldn't get myself to put up the big tree. So I bought a 4ft. table top one, prelit. I put all the ornaments of places we vacationed at and other special ones only. But I didn't take them off, just covered the whole tree and put away for the next year. But looking at the different ornaments of places we visited brings pleasure and close to tears. Makes me feel like she is here with me. All my things are now put away for 11 months. Thanks for sharing ☺️
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year I have really looked at the ornaments. And it was as I was taking them off the tree. I more or less have been on auto pilot the last six years and haphazardly put them on and take them off. Next year I plan to take more care. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteThank you for sharing also. I'm glad the holidays are over. They were harder this year.
DeleteNot to discourage you, but to be honest, year two was more difficult than year one for me...I think the first year I was just numb.
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