Remembering Christmas

Doesn't the ghost of Christmas past visit us every year?

While decorating the tree, I pull out ornaments that were made by my children when they were very young and I'm again a young mother with hyper-excited kids around at Christmas. Then out comes the Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson Hallmark ornaments which my dad bought for us many years ago.  He wanted to make sure his grandchildren knew about these legacies.  Of course, there are the "Our First Christmas," and "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments. We first put those up on a small tabletop tree in an apartment.  Other ornaments are reminders of friends, coworkers, sorority sisters, and former students who gave these as gifts through the years. 
I've never had a theme tree; nothing that would ever be photographed for a HGTV special.  These annual memory fests as I decorate the tree are too priceless. 

The delicious aroma of baking conjures the memory of my late Aunt Jean.  She always sent me back to college after Christmas break with her specialty, applesauce cake.  It made the early cold, dark days of second semester go by just a little easier.

Pine. My mind goes back to years of my mom and dad struggling to keep the Christmas tree straight.  My dad would get frustrated and just wrangle some type rope around it to keep it up.  Then my mom would find some pretty red ribbon to "hide" the ugly rope and it almost looked like an intentional decoration. 

Going to the annual Christmas musical at church and I'm a little girl learning my "piece" for the Sunday School program. Then I'm a mother helping my children learn their parts for the church play at Christmas.  I can't count how many times I've watched the wise men come up the center aisle singing "We Three Kings." Often the costumes for the shepherds and wise men were bathrobes.

The light displays remind me of piling into my dad's car back when sedans were so large that four kids could fit easily in the backseat.  Seatbelt laws were pretty nonexistent then so if you needed to, you could crowd in a few more.  Many years later we buckled our two children safely in the minivan to drive around to view the lights. Have you noticed that little ones definitely like the "more is better" concept?  I now prefer to see Baby Jesus, Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty NOT sharing the same yard space but kids don't seem to mind.

So Ebenezer Scrooge is not the only one visited by the past during the holidays.  For most of us, however, it's a wonderful visit and we gladly return year after year.