Christmas Decorations

The tradition of setting up Christmas decorations isn’t a mere chore. It’s more than making things pretty. Manger scenes and such can remind us of our Savior Jesus Christ, but that’s not the focus of this post.

For me, decorating brings memories of loved ones some of whom have moved on from this life. Other  items bring warm memories of times past. I’ll mention just a few in this post:

This angel, for example—I was helping clear out the apartment of an angel on earth who had moved into eternity. I met her when I first moved here and was new at church. She brought me under her wing and took me to women's activities outside Sunday meetings, encouraged me and my husband to attend adult activities and sat by me in the women’s meeting. After I was settled, she moved on to the next new person and then the next, and the next. I could go on about her service to others, but this post isn’t about her. When I was helping the family clear out, I admired this Christmas angel, and her older sister told me I could have it. I balked at first because it looked expensive, but she explained her siblings all wanted it, and that it would save hard feelings if she gave it to me.

Another special memory comes when I take out this manger scene, my older children painted it when they were little. Although not perfect, it’s a treasure. I planned on expanding it yearly, and that worked the second year, but the store where I purchased the pieces, went out of business by the third year, and I never found pieces the same size. But that’s okay, it’s a snapshot of that time in our lives.

On the other hand, sometimes we need to let go of small treasures. Two years ago, I let go of the decorations our children made in elementary school. They were falling apart. My children had been trying to convince me to do that for a few years, and they were right. It was time to move on. The decorations had fulfilled their purpose, and no longer added to the beauty Christmas tree. I didn’t even remember who made which ones, anyway.

We’re letting go of another item this year—the string of blue outdoor lights. They are part of our Christmas tradition; however, they’re so old my older brothers hung them on a tree in front of my childhood home. Any electrician or fire fighter would have a fit if they saw them. Did I mention my youngest child is in her 30s?

Setting up Christmas decorations can bring out poignant memories of the past. It’s more than fun work and making things pretty. It’s a time to reflect on what’s important in life. What we need to cherish, and what we need to let go of.

National Novel Writing Month

“Are you doing NaNo this year? This was a popular question in my writing circle throughout October, the unofficial prep time for NaNoWriMo. My answer is no. It’s great for those who find the pressure of writing 50,000 words in one-month exhilarating.

I can see its value. I had a scene I couldn’t get right, so I wrote 2,000 words in one sitting. It pressed my muse/imagination to the limit, but I finally had what I thought was a bad idea written out. A bad idea was better than a blank page, right? Naturally it took a lot of tweaking to smooth out the wrinkles, but the basic idea turned out to fix my problem.

One of the big difficulties in just pressing through for me is that I find it nearly impossible not to rewrite. That’s one of the rules of the game. No going back and editing. Press forward ever forward. Remind yourself you can fix it later. They have a great support system in place, but it doesn’t work for me. I edit my texts, messages, and everything else I write. When my children were in school, even excuses to the teacher when they were sick. It just isn’t in my DNA.

For those of you reading my blog who are in the middle of it, keep going, you can do this. I’ll cheer you on, just don’t expect me to join you. 

Halloween in Years Gone By

“What was Halloween like when you were a little girl in the 1950’s?” My grandchildren may ask. Many of the traditions were the same as today, but several have changed, some a lot.

When I was growing up, many of our neighbors made homemade treats like popcorn balls and cookies which we ate without fear. There wasn’t such a thing as mini candy bars. However, not everyone gave out the big ones. Taffy, small Tootsie Rolls, and sticks of gum were popular. I remember peanut butter flavored taffy with a bit of dried out peanut butter inside was at the bottom of my desirable list. Do they still make that stuff? They did when my children trick or treated. I traded that away 2, 3, or more to one, so did my children.

I used paper grocery bags to put my candy in. Greedy children sometimes used a pillow case. I went with friends in their neighborhoods. We only had one old lady about a block away year around. The rest of the neighborhood had summer cabins or empty lots except one couple that came up for summers only.

My mom made me fantastic costumes, most of which had another purpose. My Alice in Wonderland dress was suitable for school without the apron, of course. Then there was the year I had panda pajamas, but I didn’t wear the hat with ears to bed. My children scrounged whatever they could find in our costume bag. Trick or Treating is still the same when children go house to house. No such thing as Trunk or Treat back then.

Tricks were still done on occasion like soaping windows or other mischief, nothing damaging. Some of the older boys in our small mountain village found an outhouse to put in the middle of the main cross roads every year. I’m sure my brothers took part in that tradition when they were teens. The one that was 5 years older complained about how hard it was to find abandoned outhouses.

Halloween is a fun holiday that brings fond memories as long as things don’t get out of hand.