- "Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts."
- Janice Maeditere
AUBURN, Maine - We drag out nearly a dozen boxes from our damp-and dark cellar every December.
We lug the boxes upstairs and begin sorting through bulbs and home-made decorations, each with its own precious history.
The tree has been stationed in the corner of the living room and its bare branches will soon be covered with cherished decorations and tinsel wraps.
Each bulb or ornament marks the passing of time and has its own story to tell. Decorating the tree is like taking a trip down memory lane each yuletide.
We remember Aunt Eddie's homemade angel ornament or my mother's funny gift of a Dunkin Donuts decoration. We go through all the ornaments as try to remember where they all came from.
There are so many ornaments the we have acquired over the last few decades. My wife, who is a full-time ed tech at a junior high, has received many ornaments from students and fellow teachers. There are decorations that my son handmade in elementary school and unique ornaments from her mother.
For instance, there is Anthony's green-painted ornament with a picture of him pasted on the front.
It is priceless.
"Our First Christmas Together" is always a sentimental favorite.
We have so many ornaments that they can't fit on a 6-foot Christmas tree. So we bought a small fake tree at a yard sale last year to accommodate our decorations.
No ornament will be left in behind. That is our motto.
Some ornaments break and are reluctantly disposed of in the trash. It is like tossing away a memory.
It hurts.
And there are the dazzling ornaments that nobody knows where they came from. But we enjoy the mystery and still place them upon our tree - no questions asked.
Just when we are about to place a moratorium on purchasing another ornament to add to our vast collection, there is always one decoration that we can't with live without.
Anthony couldn't resist purchasing a glass-bulb ornament with "The Alamo" nestled inside this unique decoration.
Thinking about "The Alamo" made me feel warm and fuzzy all over.
But what is wrong with adding a new memory to our tree each year?
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