Christmas week: The ornament box

Ah me. The decorations are finally up. It’s all over but the shouting. Oh, and the tree. It’s ready for ornaments.

I volunteer to organize the Christmas tree ornament box every year. I love to reach in and pull out each tissue-wrapped treasure, slowly peeling away the layers of paper to reveal some small memory. Some are funny, some bittersweet. But, for me, our ornaments create a holiday mosaic of lives well lived (or so I think) – thanks to loving family, friends and a few assorted pets.

So Saturday, as snow fell steadily on Bermtopia, I opened the ornament box and began to peel away tissue paper, reveling in a flood of memories like these:

Little towheaded (or “toad-headed” as Number 2 Son used to say) boys

My grandparents’ Christmas trees,

classic with these ornaments

and old-skool tinsel

Our first ornaments

Sweet friends, near and far

Hand-crafted treasures straight from the heart

Note: This was from the N2S’ Minimalist Period

The special contributions only pets can provide

(Yep, that's right -- the dog chewed Santa's bum)

And finally, the "It's weird, but it works and we love it!"