Sunday, December 1, 2013

New Beginnings ~ Storytelling Sunday

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:

Jane said...

your story brought a tear to my eye, they show you how special you were to your mum x

debs14 said...

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.

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

This is a lovely post to finish up a year of precious things with. Perfect.

Sian said...

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

Lou said...

A lovely lovely post x

Missus Wookie said...

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 :)

furrypig said...

Christmas is just jam packed full of memories, thank you for sharing a precious one of yours... sending hugs xxx

Susi said...

Lovely post! The ornament look brand new, you mom must have cherished it.

Amy said...

I really don't know what to say - such a precious little way to finish Deb :)

Abi said...

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!

Beverly said...

The perfect precious and story to share on this last one. Thank you for all the stories you have told us, Deb!

Becky said...

A wonderful precious to share for the last story. I have enjoyed all the stories you have written over the years - don't stop!

Cheri said...

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!

Audrey said...

Whew Deb, that's really beautiful. Made me so emotional....just being a Mom and all. Really, so lovely. Thank you for sharing!!!

Anonymous said...

Brought a tear to my eye.

Karen said...

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!

Margaret said...

That is a lovely story. Thanks for sharing.

Maria Ontiveros said...

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

Jo said...

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

alexa said...

What treasures awaited you! How lovely that despite the sadness at times, there were little gifts there from her to you :).

Anonymous said...

Oh Deb - how precious they are!

Lisa-Jane said...

Sadly I ran out of time for this month too and I will really miss it. I loved your little cotton angel!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...