Thanksgiving to Christmas progression

Thanksgiving was delightful.  We spent the day at the Byron Williamsons eating, watching the Cowboys, and enjoying the children (large and small).  Our lives are so entwined with the
Williamsons here, in Abilene and at ACU that they are like other special friends in our lives--there in thick and thin, joy and sorrow.

Now comes the unpacking of Christmas--why does it take so long?  Answer:  I have too much stuff to put on the tree and to put out in the house, yet I love it all:  the ornaments, old and new, shiny, and lusterless,  and those that have a story; I love the mantle things that go in the same place each year--the Santas that Pat Phillips gave me along with the glass deer that the Lorenzes and we gifted each other; the Santa's workshop display that the Austin Faculty gave Sam; the singing animations that sit on the coffee table every year which are played over and over by the grandchildren. 

I love the angels, the bears and the mice that sit in the kitchen window--cheap little sets that Sam bought from a school catalog, but which have held up really well.  Then there is the Fisher Price manger scene on the tea table in the bedroom arranged and rearranged each time the kids come.  Plus, I have to get out my collection of "The Night Before Christmas " books to put in the basket by the fireplace.  And on and on...

Marble and Mud

Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, "Life is made up of marble and mud." The events of the past few days attest to that adage.

Musing about the sudden death of Prentice Meador and the empathetic feelings I have for Barbara brought back memories of those painful early widowhood days. Days when I was getting used to the absence of my love for 30 years, the empty chair at the table, the empty space on the right side of the bed, the lifeless clothing hanging in the closet, the empty pew beside me on Sunday morning, the grieving child, and days when I wondered what life would bring next. Fortunately those feelings subsided, and life became golden again (although with spaces still missing). And mud became marble.

Marble days abound in December--I can't go into any store (even the grocery store) without wonderful memories and excitement for the days to come with Maddie, Ella and Sam anticipating Santa. I have finally finished decoraating my house with many, many, many, many things collected over the past 47 years. Phew! I do love those lights on the tree and the stories behind some of the decorations. There are two white angels on my end table that Sam brought to our marriage--still intact (though with one glued wing)--and my favorite from him--a band of musicians made out of paper and colored pipe cleaners. I believe he bought them in the 50's. And a new decoration for the tree: Snowflake wooden frames holding the school pictures of Maddie, Ella and Sam. What joy!

Thank you God for the marble and mud of this life.

It's All Finally Done

It has taken me longer to decorate for Christmas this year than ever before. Whew! Maybe it is because I paused too long to look at each decoration and remember the times and events associated with it. Maybe it is because I am slowing down--Nah!

As always, my house looks wonderfully decorated. Lights and glitter do a lot for any venue. As you decorate, look at each item and think about the good times: For example, one year Sam decided he wanted to decorate eggs. Not like Easter, but like Christmas. One has to put 2 tiny holes in the egg, blow out the contents, let the egg dry and then put whatever decorations on or in the half egg one desires like sequins, glitter, felt, etc. Yes, they are very fragile. I have three left out of about a dozen that he did. Another year he made door jinglers (for lack of a better word) out of huge bells, some pieces of rope and bits of holly and ribbon. I have two and Brandon has some, I believe.

There are decorations on my tree from the Netherlands, the Holy Land and Alaska--all gifts of friends and relatives, plus the one I brought back on the plane from the Virgin Islands. I have very few of the original Christmas balls Sam and I started with, but I treasure those tattered and worn ones I have left.

At any rate, all jobs go faster if Christmas music is playing and popcorn is popping. Happy decorating!