The year he had given me 12 mini old fashioned Christmas ornaments. They were in a white box with silver lettering. They were made in Germany, each one glistening with the finest glitter. They were the 12 blessings for newly weds. He had given them to me the year that Erik and I got married. December 2008. It was our last Christmas together. Last year, the family was sleep walking in a haze of mourning, we didn't celebrate like we had in the past. I remember looking at the box he had given me and realizing that I hadn't put them on a tree yet, nor was I going too. I had even gone out to buy a small desk tree to put them on, but I never got as far as opening the box. It was just too painful.
APPLICATION -
While continuing to decorate the house today, I came across the gorgeous box of ornaments from Uncle Pete. I took some time with the ornaments. This year, the holidays were reinvented and felt close to normal again. Without hesitation, I opening the box and began reading the descriptions given to each piece. I must have really had my mind elsewhere last year, I looked at the tree box and it was labeled "Lavender" ..... great .... a purple tree! I laughed to myself and plugged the tree into the wall anyways. The ornaments were girly looking, so I figured lavender was perfect!
I held each one in my hand for a while, thinking of Pete giving each one a gentle squeeze. When the tree was done, I began to cry. It's the second time since the night of his passing that I have allowed myself to take in the moment of missing him and let it all out. After a few minuets of crying, I stood the tree up in my scrapbook room on top of my television. Next to it, sat a gift I gave him for the holidays a few years back. It held tons of pictures of him caught in the most joyful of moments. Things in life come around full circle. It's now back in my care. His scrapbook sits there, keeping good watch over the blessings that hang from the lavender tree.
REFLECTION -
I'm thinking the box didn't need to be opened until the right time ..... today that time had come, meaning more to me than the day that it was received.
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