A Christmas Memory

 
When I was growing up in New Hampshire we had the most magical Christmases. My mother and I would decorate our house from top to bottom-it looked like a fairyland with all the little scenes, the colored Christmas balls in all the windows, and our gorgeous sparkling tree.

My favorite time was when we would walk out to the pine grove with our dogs, and sometimes a cat. The snow would sparkle under the light of the rising moon and we would cut pine bows for our Nativity scene. The silence of the early evening and the feeling of Christmas in our hearts made this one of my most treasured moments.

Back in the house we would arrange the pine bows around a small lamp with a felt Nativity scene on the base. Then we would gather all our small wooden or porcelain animals from all over our house and arrange them around the creche. When it was all done, we turned on the lamp with a small yellow bulb that glowed onto our scene. Then we would stand back in awe of what we had created.

Today my mother and I struggle a bit with Christmas. After my Grandmother died, it all seemed to change, and the impetus to create all that we used to, somehow was not there. We continue to have Christmas, of course, in Santa Monica, New Hampshire, and now Florida. We are together, which is the most important thing. At some point during the holiday, I always go back in my mind to those magical evenings when we would gather the pine bows, arrange our nativity scene, and turn on the small lamp. That memory still fills my heart with the best of Christmas.

I WISH THE SAME FOR ALL OF YOU - MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HEALTH, HAPPINESS AND LOVE IN THE NEW YEAR!!