Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches

My Christmas tree is an album of memories. This year as I went about putting up the tree and unwrapping the ornaments, I recalled the event and/ or the person that made that piece memorable; the small handmade house with our family name inscribed on it, a gift from a dear friend, the small Indian pot from our trip to the Grand Canyon, the Dutch shoes from our trip to Holland, the red satin balls with bits of lace and glitter that I made on my first Christmas as a married lady (We were too poor to afford really fine ornaments) and of course, ornaments that I bought to commemorate the births of my children and grandchildren .

Memories, sweet and bittersweet, flooded my mind and heart.

Still, I remember as a little girl, I was always fascinated by our Christmas tree. I imagined the branches were paths lit by the lights and the large shiny ornaments were little houses in a beautiful green village. Each ornament housed a family and each family had a story. As a child, my imagination was limitless, now as a woman recalling those stories, I find that they have taken on a life of their own. My ornaments have their own story, real, not imagined now symbols of my own life's story.

Years of collecting have now made the tree heavily laden with ornaments. It has been a few years since we finally succumbed to an artificial tree but I am grateful that I don't have to worry about broken branches or a toppled tree. It is still a lovely tree, but without the wonderful smell of pine. So I have traipsed out to the back of our property where there are several pines growing and I have cut branches to bring the aroma of the outdoors into the house.

Christmases, joyous, celebratory and filled with warm moments and others , filled with heartbreak and loss, difficult to get through at best, each season comes again with its own distinct identity. What type of holiday will it be this year? So many changes, so much to mourn and yet so much to be grateful for. I take out the ornaments once more but this time with a singular purpose...to make it count, to share this moment with my family, my husband, and myself and be grateful for another season, another Christmas with those I love.