Antique Memories and New Traditions

My mother loved Christmas.  She loved putting up the tree every year and getting out all her ornaments that she grew up with.  I detested these ornaments.  I remember going to friends homes during the holiday season and their trees had matching colors and or themes, new ornaments that were sparkly and warm.  In my eyes these “antiques” were cold and ugly.  Every year I begged my mother to please not put them up and for us to buy new ones.  This never did work out in my favor.  Now I understand why.

Last year after Christmas I was going through a box of my mothers ornaments that she grew up with and that I grew up with.  I have never used these on my own tree because they are all breakable and with kids, I just knew that they would get broken.
As I took out these ornaments from the rat eaten boxes and unwrapped them from their yellowed and tattered paper towels, I knew that I wanted to do something with these ornaments.  After all, they meant something to my mother.  They were special to her and she was no longer here.  How could I just throw them back in the shed for years to come to let whatever rodents get to them.  So I made the decision last year while rewrapping these priceless ornaments in tissue paper and putting them inside their new Rubbermaid home for stowaway that they would be used for the next Christmas.

I knew that these ornaments couldn’t go on our main tree, I just didn’t want them to get broken.  I knew that we had to buy a tree for them.  But our home isn’t big enough for more than one big tree, I decided that it didn’t matter and buying a tree for our bedroom was the only solution.
I purchased a 6 foot tall tree and the lights to go on it.  I bought white lights and I feel guilty.  Mother never did like white lights, she always liked the multi.  To her Christmas was filled with lots of color not white.  White can be used anytime of year.  Well, I bought white Mother, I hope you can forgive me.  I made my decision based on the fact that this tree will be in the bedroom and I didn’t want the color to take away from the ornaments either.

As I sat on the floor unwrapping the ornaments this year ready for their few weeks out of the box, I pulled each one remembering how ugly I thought that they were but how I was looking at them through new eyes.  They truly are beautiful.  I am so very thankful that I have these and that I can look at them every morning and every night.  I am so thankful that they are apart of our Christmas tradition from now on.