Ornaments! (December 2020)

 

I’m not a super nostalgic type person, but there is just something different about Christmas. I am a big fan of ornaments. I love Christmas and winter decor overall, but there’s something very special about ornaments. They are treasured items I unpack once a year and get “all in my feels” about every year, typically with my favorite Christmas albums in the background. 

Since we first got married, Craig and I have collected ornaments. We each brought many from our childhood to the tree, but the ones we’ve chosen together hold a special meaning. While I love the shiny baubles of packaged ornaments for extra fill in, carefully selected memories fill our tree every year. We were given a sweet “Just Married” ornament as a wedding gift and then we bought more on our honeymoon. That began our tradition of finding ornaments as souvenirs from places we go and things we do. It’s easy to pack up as a prior military couple expecting to move all around. Ornaments are something you can reminisce over with all the emotions the holidays can bring. 

We’ve inherited ornaments from others long gone. I remember them on my grandparents’ tree. Others I found from my great Aunt Mildred. Forgotten ornaments that shine once again. I wonder about the stories while I admire them. Were they gifts, perhaps?

We bought ornaments when we lived in New England, stationed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with the Coast Guard. The collection includes many towns we visited and the base itself. We have so many Coast Guard ornaments, the tree probably salutes the Commanding Officer if he drives by the house. I’ll likely still buy more, to be honest.

I have helpers to decorate the tree these days. We tell them stories about ornaments we’ve collected from our childhood, our life together, given from others, even those the boys have made themselves. The boys hang ornaments, arguing over who places what where. I fuss that there’s no need to put 25 ornaments crammed together in one section. Before long, I kick them out and redo the whole thing muttering to myself, while Harry Connick, Jr croons in the background. It’s just the beauty of the season, you know? 

However, sometime later, I grab a boring drink in a fancy glass and I dim the lights. I might start the music again, perhaps Sinatra’s Christmas Waltz or a favorite collection of Christmas carols about the birth of Jesus. I sit in the light of the tree looking at the sparkling memories of fun and adventure. Sometimesboys have made, or even the ones celebrating their December birthdays. 

Do you have a favorite ornament or one that makes you smile big? I have ornaments from many things around Perquimans County. My youth group, Hertford Baptist Church, Perquimans County High School, even Mr. Jimmy (known to the world as Catfish Hunter). There are soccer ornaments for Carson, loud ornaments for Andrew, and we have a whole box of just Star Wars tree decor! 

This year I treated myself to a typewriter ornament. While I certainly don’t use that to write these columns, I do have a typewriter. It’s symbolism that when I feel like there is nothing good, I still have words and the ability to put them together. I challenge you to look for an ornament that highlights something good this year. Even if you write it with a sharpie on a shiny ball. I’ll probably do that myself.