MY CHRISTMAS -- A WORK IN PROGRESS

My mother came to life in the fall of the year when she began to prepare for Christmas. It meant cleaning; baking fruitcake, beautiful cookies, and “tea rings;” making tree ornaments for herself and her family; shopping for gifts; and decorating the interior of the house -- in short, everything valued for a traditional celebration. I struggled for years to keep up. I thought that over time I would get better and that when I was truly “grown up,” I would have arrived at my mother’s Christmas. Someplace along the timeline, it became painfully apparent it wasn’t going to happen. So, a few years ago, I took stock and resolved to simplify, starting with my tree ornaments. I bought three ornament boxes. Into one box I placed all ornaments that looked old and worn and no longer had a shiny presence on the tree and labeled that box “retired.” Into the next box I placed my favorite traditional ornaments so that they would be readily accessible if I wanted them. Into the third box went ornaments for a quickly-decorated, practical tree – the Hallmark house collection, white crocheted snowflakes, angel ornaments, etc. In the process I realized that I had been spending a lot of time putting collector’s ornaments back into original packaging. Therefore, I put all individual boxes into a storage tote that I never have to touch. Not only does this save time and effort but wear and tear on the boxes as well. (Do I sound like Martha Stewart?) If I miss the old things, they’re still available. And I love that I can go right on collecting ornaments – symbols of love and friendship -- because I have room for them. This year I received a red and green bell from Hallie, an impish “Annalee” angel from Joni, a white lace angel from Chris, and two glass “candy” ornaments from Annie and Jack.