Every year while decorating the tree, I always look forward to seeing certain ornaments again. I push aside ornaments in the box to reach for a favorite to hang on the tree. Always pushing aside the same ones year after year. They don’t always make it to the tree.  Why do I keep them?

Growing up, we always had to hang the boring red balls first before we could hang any “fun” ornaments. My mom even had small ones in groups of three hanging by thread so you couldn’t see it and no hooks. We would hang them forever! “Is there enough NOW?” We pleaded. This doesn’t even sound like the mother I know now.

And so when I got married I had red balls too. Isn’t that what you are supposed to have? Having celebrated 25 years together this year, we have accumulated many ornaments. And although now we have some beautiful antiqued, jeweled, glittered and etched balls, we still have many red balls from our early years. A few of these red balls have become my prized ornaments. They are chippy, faded and loved.

Drew, our oldest was born December 20^th. So on his 2^nd Christmas we had a toddler. We decorated the tree while he slept. That morning I turned on the Christmas tree lights and set him down in his little footie PJs. He padded over to the tree and sat down. He sat there for 30 minutes. Watching. His hands in his lap. Quietly. Watching.

His goodness didn’t last and he became enamored with the red balls and would “pick” them off the tree. He would mouth them and the red would come off and get all over his mouth and face. He knew he wasn’t supposed to “pick” them, because I would find him hiding behind the tree and licking to his heart content. We had to take all the red balls off the tree. Over the last 18 years these precious licked on balls have slowly met their demise and now I’m down to just a few special reminders of my sweet son and his second Christmas.

As I dug through the box of ornaments searching for the next favorite to hang I got a huge lump in my throat, as it was a licked on ball. But my son is in another state at college, our his first year. With traveling we were short on time and had picked out the tree and lights on while he was here at Thanksgiving but didn’t get to the ornaments.  Such sadness I felt. How fast the time has gone. I can still feel him, warm and soft in those PJs. 

We still have a box of ornaments left. I am saving them till he gets home in a few weeks.  I put the ball in that box. I want him to hang it up.

I pray you treasure the blessings in your life especially today.

Katey

Update:

I posted this on Wednesday and that night at church my mom gave me a gift bag with Sue cookies my dad had baked and she said there was a surprise in there from her as well. When I got home I opened it and it was this wonderful redwork piece she had been making for me for Christmas. She had read my post and couldn’t wait until Christmas for me to have it. What a wonderful gift!! How so very special to know that we were reminiscing about the same Christmas. 

When Drew came home from college I had him put the ball on. He quickly put it on between plays on the football game on tv. It was lost on him. But not me. I thought about his big hands and how small the ball was now.  One day he will though.