O Christmas Tree

One of my favorite pastimes at Christmas is sitting in a darkened living room, watching the lights flicker on the tree while carols play softly in the background. Just catching a glimpse of the Christmas tree throughout the day lifts my spirits a bit. It is a reminder of special moments and happy times.

For me, decorating the tree is all about memories and tradition. Each ornament has a story all its own. Several of my ornaments were actually handed down to me by my mother. Others have been collected by Pedro and me during our thirteen Christmases together. There are too many stories to tell them all, but here are just a few.

My grandmother ordered this hand-painted ornament for Isabel, and a similar one for Eva. Each time I hang it on the tree I think of her and remind the girls that this gift came from "Meemie." Without fail they will sigh and say how much they miss her. What they remember most about their great-grandmother is how she will slice them apples before bedtime when we are at her apartment. No other apples are as sweet as the ones shared with Meemie.

This ornament, if you can call it that, is new this year. Last week our family was eating lunch at the outside patio of a downtown restaurant when a blue-eyed man with long gray dreadlocks approached our table. He wanted us to purchase a pen he had made from Chilean copper. Along with the purchase of the pen, he offered us this handmade copper broom. With great fervor he admonished us to place it in plain view to remind us and others of the value of those who sweep Chile's streets. They are the most overworked and underappreciated of public servants, he told us. I thanked him for the items and assured him that the broom would go on our Christmas tree. What he thought of that, I don't know, but here it is just as I promised!

Three years ago we purchased this ornament while in Texas. We were homestudy-ready and waiting to be matched domestically with a baby boy, hopeful that it would happen within the next few weeks or months. It was with great disappointment that we let go of that dream when we moved to Chile, but this year we once again wait with great expectation to celebrate Christmas with not just one but two special little boys.

One year we enjoyed a visit from family while living in Michigan, and on a trip to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland we purchased three sets of four glass ornaments each. We divided the sets so that my mom, two sisters and I would each have the same three beautiful ornaments to put on our Christmas trees even though we all live far apart. This red bell is one of the ornaments. Each year when I place these on my tree, I think of my sisters and my mom. This year, they will have the chance to all be together for Christmas and we will miss not being there with them.

I started collecting the annual Precious Moments ornament early in our marriage, and I like to tease Pedro that when we've been married for forty Christmases we can have an all-Precious Moments Christmas tree! My sweet mom graciously buys this for me each year, since obviously they are not sold in Chile. In addition to the yearly ornament, I also have a baby ornament like this one for the year each of my children was born.