Well it is after thanksgiving. The Christmas season has begun. With it come some memories for me. As I get out the decorations I think of the ones I have been given and wonder about the people who have given them to me. Where are they now? How has their life changed since last we met?
There is the wall hanging given to me by a close friend with whom I no longer get to talk. I wonder how she is doing with her three home schooled children on her small homestead in Canada. I miss her cheerfulness and her crafting stories! She herself is an awesome writer and I miss “listening” to the tales she spins of her small town!
Then there is the ornament given to me by Amy, a teacher acquaintance a lovely young woman. Amy is kind and caring, always looking for ways to brighten the days of those around her. Last I had heard she had moved off to a larger town and begun teaching there.
There is the hand crafted snowman “kit” sent me as a reward from some contest on a forum I once enjoyed visiting. I wonder how the lady is doing, her life was so full! I wonder too of her sister, whose life had taken an unexpected turn. I wish them both well and hope life has given them much happiness since we have been separated.
There is the angel ornament given me at the last large family Christmas gathering. Before Grandmother Grace passed away. I wonder how the others in the family remember her at this time of year. Grace was… a lady, gentle but firm, and she loved her family very much. Each person in the family knew they were loved.
Then there is the table decoration I got last year at the company Christmas party. MJ told me a few days ago there won’t be any more of those and it saddens me a little, to think that is one less tradition to enjoy this year.
As tradition requires Christopher put up the tree, then the lights, I put on my and MJ’s ornaments, and then the boys did theirs. The tree looks lovely and is full of love as well.
I ponder what memories this Christmas will add to our lives, every year adds something to the people who live it.
Memories do not come just from the things we receive, but also from the things we give.
I am hand crafting gifts for many this year. I wonder as I sew each one, how will the recipient think of the gift. Will it make them smile to know they were thought of with each stitch? Will they regret not being able to return it? Though they could, I rarely make gifts I would not like to receive!
I am working too on some surprise boxes. Not expensive things, but just a small, “thinking of you” box to brighten a friend’s day. Some of my friends are having hard times this year, and I hope that knowing they are thought of and cared for will help them smile, if even for a moment when the hard times press in. So far I have…. 5 such boxes planned!
Then there are the cards to send out! I have almost two dozen of those! I think of so many folks each year. Some are far off family, some are internet friends. Each had played a part in who I am now, as opposed to who I was when we met. There are some internet friends I have lost touch with, (Jules, if you see this I mean you!) due to family needs or just switching emails and not remembering who is where.
Well the evening is late, and the tree calls to me, telling me its time for pop corn and cocoa and snuggling in the glow of the tree lights.
Good bye for now friends, may your season be merry and your love lights bright.
And that’s my view.
Melissa A. Frizell