My Granny was pretty cool. My mother's mom was my longest living grandparent. I knew her the best. She wasn't always my favorite (I was a Papa's girl), but I loved her dearly.
When I was little, I gave her this ornament for Christmas. It was on her tree each year. When she was no longer able to put her tree up and did not want others to put it up for her, I was given the ornament back along with a few of her very old ornaments. Now, this ornament hangs on my tree every year.
I think of her at each glance.
My grandmother was a hulk. She was a very strong woman. She experienced hardships that I can only imagine and repeat in stories. Often I can get down on things in my own life and whine about how difficult life is - but when I think of her childhood, the beginning of her marriage, her raising four children with next to nothing, her family relationships, her old age, her failing health, and her last years being spent in a nursing home... I am reminded that she was so very much stronger than I.
Several of the ornaments on my tree are pretty... or cute... or gifts from students over past years. However, I love a good "memory" ornament... We have a set from the country of Jordan when Scott was there on a mission trip. We have one that was made for me by a childhood friend when I was 4. We have one that Scott made as a young child. Of course, we have a ton from preschool years that all three children have made. We still use the star on the top of the tree that my 17 year old made when he was 2...
My tree is a mixture.
A mixture of textures and colors.
A mixture of happy memories and sad thoughts.
A mixture of giggles and belly laughs.
I could sit and look at it in the quiet of the evening with a tall cup of hazelnut coffee and a snuggly blanket...
I love Christmas.
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