"Christmases Past" flood my memory. It's a blessed thing to have a memory and I am grateful for the ability to recall many personal stories and family events, even details about my most favorite moments from Decembers now behind me.
One recollection is watching my Granny Margery adorn her Christmas tree. While her tree and overall holiday decorating was never quite as as elaborate as my mom's was, Granny had a great finale when it came to her Christmas tree. The finale was fueled by the revealing of a special old ornament she had kept from her childhood Christmases.
Yes, one thing I miss most about "Christmases Past", is watching Granny place the hook in her last tree ornament and then handing it to me to hang on her evergreen. It was a plastic, brightly-colored, old-timey Saint Nicolas. He was very fragile and even had scotch tape holding his feet together. But, he was, nonetheless, quite glorious to me.
As I searched for the perfect place to hook Old Saint Nick to a branch, I imagined how many times my dear Granny, first as a little girl, then as a teenager, and as a young wife and now an older lady, had pulled that beloved ornament out of her attic year-after-year. It thrilled my soul to the maximum just thinking those thoughts.
When granny passed from this life to Eternity, I only asked for a wall-hanger from her home and I got it from my Aunt Edith. However, I really would have loved to had inherited the old plastic Saint Nicolas Christmas heirloom, as well, but I suppose I just didn't have the heart to ask my Granny's only daughter to part with it.
As much as I sometimes long for "Christmases Past", even more so I love "Christmas Present". Our tree is all decorated for another season and we even purchased a newer version of the Old Saint Nick ornament like Granny had. And, on our own tree, my wife and I, always hang some old ornaments we made our first year of marriage. We didn't have extra money to buy nice tree-hangers, so we made some out of plaster and then hand-painted them.
Again this year, I suppose our own son and daughter, will ask us to point out the oldest ornaments once again. I have a feeling our first Christmas tree decorations will be hung for generations to come, as well?
Friends, it's Christmas. Surely, Christmastime is a tender time to remember yesterday, to embrace today, and to anticipate tomorrow. Blessed Christmas to you.
Grateful
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