The Decoration That Means Most

Once you're no longer a child, Christmas becomes ALL about sentiment and memories.

If you're lucky, like I am, you get to create new and more memories with your extended family.  My (Charlie) parents come for Christmas every other year, so I get to try to make their holiday as meaningful for them, as they did all those years for me.

We are not so lucky with Deb.

Her father died soon after our son was born (17 years ago), and her mother suffers from Dementia and is in a full-time care facility.  Debbie's brothers are much older than her, and they've never been "close."

I have great memories of our early married life, coming home for Christmas, and spending time with her mom and dad.  Oh, how her mom LOVED Christmas; and she loved DECORATING for Christmas.  The house looked like Peppermint Forrest threw up in there! ;)

Which leads to this.  This simple, pull-string Santa (at least 50 years old) is the only decoration from her mom's home that has survived to be with us.  It always hung in the door archway to the kitchen; and traditionally, all kids and grandkids were lifted to pull the string and hear the chimes of "Silent Night."

I watched Debbie carefully put a hook in place in the archway to our kitchen today.  I watched her carefully hang this decoration from her childhood.  She then said, "You know, I don't think this has worked for years."

And then she pulled the string.

Magic.

She's a much stronger person than me.  Tears are still running down my face.

Make memories with your family this year (as none of us is promised another).  And when they're gone...they're gone.

Merry Chistmas.