At the beginning of this year, in January to be exact, my sister and I went through our mother's personal belongings. Mom had only been gone for a few months, and Christmas 2012 had just barely passed, so going through her things was an emotional journey. There were things that made us smile, things that made us cry, and lots of things that caused us to say, "Hey! Remember this?!?!"
A few of Mom's treasures that I collected that day were Christmas ornaments from years gone by. Like this one - an angel made out of an Arizona cotton boll, made by yours truly in the late 1980's. My mom had kept it in the same box I'd mailed it in, with a note on top in my handwriting saying, "Open this one NOW!"
There were other ornaments I'd made for her over the years, and since we never spent Christmas together I hadn't had an opportunity to see some of them for many, many years. I was so touched to see the loving care she'd taken to preserve them all these years. I could see by the way they were stored how much they meant to her.
And now these ornaments will grace our Christmas
tree, each with a little bit of love from me to my mom glued or stitched into
their making. Each ornament contains a little story from years gone by, now
brought back to life in my heart as I hang each of them on our tree today.
♥
For the past three years I have been linking up
with my blog friend, Sian, for Storytelling Sundays on the first Sunday of every
month. I've missed just a few Sunday's along the way, but have always enjoyed
reading the stories shared by my blog friends from around the world. And even
though we bid farewell to "Storytelling Sunday" this month, I know
that Sian has laid the groundwork for many storytellers around the globe. We
all have stories to tell, and Sian's encouragement has helped many to get their
stories told.
Many thanks to Sian for three years of sharing
stories. May all who have participated continue to document the stories of
their lives, and may our dear Sian be wrapped in many blessings
on this, the final Storytelling Sunday.
22 comments:
your story brought a tear to my eye, they show you how special you were to your mum x
Oh how wonderful for you to have this returned to you to enjoy yourself. You must be so touched to see how much she cherished what you sent and how much it meant to her.
This is a lovely post to finish up a year of precious things with. Perfect.
Such a special story to finish off with Deb. I think it says everything we all want to say about the stories we have been telling this year and I'm so glad you shared your ornament with us today
And thank you so much for your lovely words..you'll have me crying in a minute :) It's been such a pleasure every time I've spotted your name in the list, and that has been many many times over the past three years. You've been such a support. Many thanks from me to you this Christmas x
A lovely lovely post x
It seems so right that you get to have these reminders of your Mom with you at Christmas. I so enjoyed seeing Cotton growing during my trip to GA a couple of years ago.
Your Yoda star is up and has been admired as we decorated today. Thanks again :)
Christmas is just jam packed full of memories, thank you for sharing a precious one of yours... sending hugs xxx
Lovely post! The ornament look brand new, you mom must have cherished it.
I really don't know what to say - such a precious little way to finish Deb :)
Oh Deb, your post brought tears to my eyes. Such a beautiful precious to finish with. Storytelling sunday has been such a joy these last few years!
The perfect precious and story to share on this last one. Thank you for all the stories you have told us, Deb!
A wonderful precious to share for the last story. I have enjoyed all the stories you have written over the years - don't stop!
What a sweet story and such a cute and precious little ornament! And wow ... you are so far ahead of the game with being all decorated already!
Whew Deb, that's really beautiful. Made me so emotional....just being a Mom and all. Really, so lovely. Thank you for sharing!!!
Brought a tear to my eye.
When my mother died, I found a pair of the ugliest ever earrings that I had made for her in elementary school. But she had never thrown them away, and although I don't remember it, I'll bet she wore them as she left the house (with another pair in her purse for sure.) It is a sign of a mother's love. Your creations, however, deserve a place on the tree!
That is a lovely story. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with everything you said about Sian and Storytelling Sunday. I'm glad these bits of your mom are still with you this Christmas.
Rinda
That is a beautiful decoration but I know it means so much more to you, you'll certainly have many more memories hanging on your tree this year x
What treasures awaited you! How lovely that despite the sadness at times, there were little gifts there from her to you :).
Oh Deb - how precious they are!
Sadly I ran out of time for this month too and I will really miss it. I loved your little cotton angel!
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