Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tree Trimming

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When John pulls the ornament boxes out of the attic each year, I'm filled to the brim with excitement. There is nothing quite like the feeling I get when I pull back that tissue paper and a thousand memories come flooding back to me.

I "ohhhh" and "ahhh" and say "remember this??" a lot.

I get teary eyed, I reminisce, I recollect and "awwww".

In that box there are bits and pieces of my life.

Pieces of him....

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and him.....

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and places....

like John's first visit to New York City....

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or the town of Bled, where Tati's sister lives....

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....and the land of chocolate, other wise known as my mecca!

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A teeny tiny sweater from Iceland, where John lived for some time....

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and New Mexico which was his home for so very long.

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There's reminders of the very little boys whose used to stand on a step stools to hang ornaments. Those same little boys now tower over my head.

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Handcrafted ornaments for my favorite dog in the whole wide world, the one who snuggles with me when my teenagers don't have the time.

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There are many, many handmade ornaments that I've made over the years.

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Lots and lots of time spent creating.

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My favorite ornaments of all are the ones that were carried home in lunchboxes and backpacks....

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...presented with fingers still sticky with glue, toothless smiles beaming up at me.

"I made this for you Mama". I can still see those moments.

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The hours spent at the kitchen table with paint and yarn.

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Some from right where we live.

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This one melts my heart. John's nickname for me is Sweet Pea, which he says with a over exaggerated southern accent. It makes me smile every time he says it. I almost cried when I saw this sweet pea ornament. Just perfect.

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Like him.

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7 comments:

TKW said...

Awww. Thanks for taking us on a tour of your tree. Some special stuff there.

romerot said...

Posts like these, even more than your recipe posts, are the reason that I love your blog so much. Thanks so much for sharing a tiny part of your life with us.

Melissa said...

That was wonderful. Your post really reminded me once again why I want to have a house of my own, traditions of my own, maybe even kids of my own. You really conveyed the Christmas love and nostalgia and joy. Thanks Lisa. :)

Spring Lake Farm said...

I love the sweet pea ornament. We have a Sweet Pea in our family and really need to find one.

Happiest of Holidays!

Sandy

Merry's Musings said...

Your tree and ornaments are super lovely. I really enjoyed your post. ...and I wish I was on your gift list, awesome gifts!

valerie said...

Yep, right there with you.
The memories, the moments and the love of years gone by, all brought out for a few weeks at the end of the year - as we display what makes us - us on our trees. So glad to see I am not alone in the tradition of putting those memories on the tree, instead of creating the perfect Ethan Allen beauty -
I think trees like ours are part of what makes the holiday so special.

Beautiful post. Thanks so much!

Irene said...

I had tears in my eyes reading this. What wonderful ornaments! I am like that too, I like collecting things that remind me of life - our tree doesn't have any color scheme, it's just funny stuff that we've collected or people have given to us. Just beautiful in its own way. Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!