It’s a tradition in my family to add a new ornament to the tree every year – vacation souvenirs, tributes to favorite pets, whimsical inside family jokes. For my family, these ornaments are the life stories that give us the moments to remember – to be relived and rejoiced every year as we put the ornaments on our trees.
I am thankful for those ornaments, those happy memories that create a special Christmas tradition every year. And while I have tried (with limited success) to
pass this on to my now-ex-husband and other close friends, it remains a special tradition that I will continue to cherish just for me.
Putting up the Christmas tree and putting each of these special ornaments on my tree has always been very special to me – full of memories and reminders of places I’ve been and things I’ve experienced. Maybe it’s the San Francisco trolley ornament we got on the cross-country trip when I was 7; or the etched glass ornament with my BoBo’s picture on it; or the ornaments made at the Sprucelands Christmas Reunion; or the Hartwick College or Jell-O Museum ornaments. All help me track, like a festive road map, the paths that my life has taken.
There are also the reminders of family and loved ones. The granny ornament that my grandmother gave me for Christmas 1988 and that is one of the few things I have left from her; the milk pod ornament that my Aunt Mary made for us so many years ago and now adorn trees in New York and Maryland; the red cardinal ornament that my mom and dad gave us for our home’s tree to continue the tradition that had started with my grandparents; the set of glass ornaments given to us for our first Christmas by my friend Lynne that documented my life as a single girl (cowboy boots, roosters, a fire truck, etc.); the tiny flute ornament given to me by my “sister” Tracy.
Whatever the ornament may be, it’s a reminder of happy memories and special loved ones. So the ornaments on my tree are that road map of where I’ve been (good and bad) and how lucky I’ve been to have such wonderful experiences and loving people in my life. Those tiny trinkets are the joys in my life to be placed on the tree every year with love and remembrance.
The Burning Horse 