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| To the north by Kathy, 2017 |
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| To the north by Ina, 1934 |
Looking
in on Ina in 1933, we see her bustling about the house with any number of
preparations from dusting to baking. Yesterday’s snowfall brought 8 to 10
inches of snow. The landscape all around was covered in white. She had no place
to go, so let it snow. The beauty of it made it seem all the more like
Christmas. On the other hand, she was a little concerned for the Smiths, who
needed to travel to Seattle after Christmas.
After
the noon meal, she bundled Shirley Anne in her snowsuit, and she followed Jack
over the north field to the trees in the draw. It was tough going for the
little girl in the deep snow, but she never complained. Jack already knew where
a pretty little fir could be found, and Shirley Anne was delighted with it.
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| Ina's tree, 1952 |
Ina
never indulged in a big tree, even though she had the room for it. No, she set
a smallish tree on the library table. It was enough, and it was manageable. It
didn’t take long to decorate a small tree, and it was easy to carry out when
Christmas was over.
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| The old Dobson home, 1934 |
Once
Jack and Shirley Anne returned with the tree, Ina helped Shirley Anne take off
her snowsuit and then set her in front of the kitchen stove and with a cup of
hot chocolate while Jack set up the tree. He also added wood to the fireplace
so that they would be warm while decorating it. And that was the end of Jack’s
part.
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| The Warnock Place, 2017 |
Ina
and Shirley Anne hung a collection of bright red shiny balls tied with green
string on the tree, and Shirley Anne had great fun carefully placing the
tinsel. Lastly Ina put fresh candles in the candleholders and clipped them to
the tree.
“Can
we light the tree tonight?” asked Shirley Anne. But Ina said no. The tradition
was to light the tree Christmas Eve, and if enough of the candles remained, perhaps
one or two more times during the season. That was enough. Sticking with the tradition
kept it special.
Ina
realized that she had a role to play in preparing Shirley Anne for the pending
move with her parents. As they decorated, she talked about the positives that would encourage a little girl. In the end they agreed that
they would never forget the year of the gingerbread pageant, the magic closet,
and opening those wonderful Christmas cards. KW
A small tree is just fine by me, too. We put our tree in front of the main living room window so that it could be admired from outside, but I will enjoy having more natural light when its gone.
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