Our impending move has pretty much determined that our home will not be decked out in Christmas stuff.
Most of it is packed away in boxes in our son's closet. Sadly since I allow the stress of unemployment to soak up most of my thoughts, it invades my memories and moods. Doesn't matter if I'm trying to enjoy a free sandwich at Togo's or just thinking about the ornaments packed inside a small closet.
In one of the six boxes filled with cheery Christmas stuff is a small styrofoam tube filled with thumb-sized ornaments. They were our first. The very first ornaments my husband and I bought after he and I moved out together into our own apartment decades ago.
The sight of the ornaments was almost comical. We were both thankfully childless as were young journalists. We earned barely above minimum wage alongside people with bachelor degrees. We would all grumble, as young people often do, about how we toiled.
I can't remember now if it was my niece or nephews or even my young sister who presented us with a Christmas brochure, part of a school fundraiser. Inside were the many ribbons, bows, popcorn tins and such that make the holidays very, very merry.
Before turning the order form in, my husband showed me all he was ordering. He chose inexpensive stuff of course. Among them, the ornaments.
"I figured since we didn't have any, why not?" I remember him saying.
Little money means little tree. And we got a small fresh Target tree, the one that seemed to be dropping off the least amount of needles. We took it home set it up. When the ornaments arrived, I began to open them and thought, "Where the heck are they?"
Pulling on an attached golden string, I pulled out the first from its plastic casing. The string fit nicely like a little ring around my finger.
Walking up behind me, my husband asked, "Well, how do they look?"
"Either they are really small or I have huge hands," I told him. We both burst out laughing.
"Well they are our first," he reasoned. I put the first one, a little teddy bear in a Santa cap (if I'm not mistaken.) It was nearly swallowed up by the tree's pine needles. But there they were, our first ornaments in all their Lilliputian glory.
I know they are still among our things. I have not used them in a long time. In the years that followed we added many, many more decorations. Now we have an tree topper angel that stands tall. Her dress is old fashioned country. Her wings are wicker. The expression on her ceramic face is serene. We easily have three dozen ornaments, most of those sports related. The hockey mentions are everywhere of course.
The biggest decision I have now is whether to store them, and risk that they will be broken, or donate them. There are few places that could take everything we have. And giving them to Goodwill will probably elicit some pretty decent cheers.
It could arguably be quite the fire sale. Honestly I think I will be making every effort to save all my ornaments. I guess we have to keep the faith we'll land on our feet.
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