OurChristmas Allbum 2014

A night of memories for me. With each ornament I take out, it brings back a
flood of thoughts and feelings. Sweet memories of making ornaments
with my children. Ornaments made by my sister so long ago before she
died in a car accident. A bird, a unicorn, wooden instruments made by a
dear friend, now also gone. Some ornaments new, some made by
special friends at crafts fairs, some precious gifts from family members
and friends. They are a dip into my past years that have flown by too
fast. Gone are those years of growing up and having huge Christmas
dinners and fun with family, most of all who are gone now. I find myself
wanting to 'see' each and every face of my loved ones, to imprint on
my senior mind what they were like, so I don't forget them.

Some years I haven't put up a tree, but then when I do, I am glad
that I did because of these dear memories, and decorating the tree
is bringing back to life those times for me and thus creates new ones.
There are so many, like myself, ones even older who had those
times with their families and treasured the memories, the closeness,
the good food prepared and shared together. Memories of children
playing, reconnecting, getting to know if only for a brief time the other
parts of their families. In cultures like ours, this might be the only times
in a year or more that people get to reconnect, so it is doubly precious.

I am so thankful to have had these family gatherings, which many, it
seems never have and thus no memories to warm their hearts, and
perhaps the knowledge of how to create those special times themselves.

Nostalgia is not a bad thing, as everyone goes back to times in their
past, and are lucky if they have good times to remember. We are so lucky
to have new friends also to share times with and create new treasures to
put in our boxes of memories.