Something old, something new . . .

Those words evoke memories of weddings and preparations, but this morning they are all about Christmas. I adore spending the quiet moments of weekend mornings sipping my favorite brew and becoming one with the twinkle of holiday lights, colors, and absolute silence - other than my rambling thoughts.

This is the first year since 2005 I have seen my Christmas tree, along with all my other holiday decorations, so it has been extra special spending time gazing at the memories that hang from every branch. My tree is so full of treasures that I have collected over the years, and recalling the happenstance of their origin simply delights me. My tree is, and will likely always be, a combination of old and new, handmade and store bought; but, I love it. (I collect snowmens and eclectic Christmas decorations from the past.) In the early days of Courtney's childhood we didn't have a lot of money to spend on big expensive decorations, but I didn't care. As a new mom I was anxious to start filling our new tree with lots of holiday traditions to match the masterful creation of my mom. From each branch of her tree hung memories of my childhood and from her life. Now I see the beaded/lace ornaments Courtney, her dad, and I made when she was in nursery school and smile a tearful, joyful smile. Some of them are elementary and are simply beads on pipe cleaners without shape or any resemblance to familiar Christmas shapes, but that is just fine by me as they might as well have been sold at Tiffany's to me.

Christmas Traditions . . . We tried to have the Christmas tree up on the evening of Thanksgiving as it was a tradition from my childhood that we have missed out on for so many years. I think we all loved the holidays so much and enjoyed the warmth the Christmas tree lights infused throughout our home that we put it up as soon as possible so as to enjoy it the longest amount of time possible, without seeming a bit on the obsessive side. lol Though we didn't quite have our tree up the eve of Thanksgiving I did put it up that weekend. I conjured a tasty batch of nog (hehehe I get the adult variety now), turned on some Christmas musie, and drug every single box up from the basement all by myself. It was such a fun night of sometimes silliness and sometimes tearful happiness as I pulled my special gems from their nest of tissue paper (remember I haven't seen them in almost five years.)

My baby girl is grown now and Christmas has changed. We used to make decorations together each year to add to our collection or shop for just the right addition. I sometimes become saddened by the passing of this tradition we shared, but realize it is a seed that I planted almost two decades ago that will grow and reseed itself in the years to come. Our tradition will renew itself and continue on in her own family just as it did with mine. I love Christmas.

I will add some pictures of my special ornaments to share them later when I have time to figure out the settings on my new camera to accommodate the lighting.