It’s a Christmas Miracle! #3

As usual, I am running behind by at least 6 months to a year and 6 months! My New Year’s Goal for 2020 is to post a blog or portfolio album once a month. I wanted to go for once a week but think that is just foolish! And as proof of this…it has taken three full months and a worldwide pandemic to push me into publishing. Better Late than Never! If you missed the first two installments of “It’s a Christmas Miracle”, here are the links so you can catch up! Christmas 2016-17 and the Original Christmas Miracle.

Olaf Speaks

Here I am in all my glory, the Christmas Ornament Captain! I need to speak to two Christmas Eves again! Jomomma is not keeping up. Does not matter though, as she manages to give me my platform and encourages my reveries. I still have my Voice, and that is miracle enough!

The last two Christmas Eves have marked a change in so many things that Jomomma has always taken as a given. Her ownership of the holiday has never been seriously challenged…until now. It is inevitable that “things change” is it not? With the grandchildren tiptoeing into adulthood…there are shifts of seismic proportion creeping into the landscape. The 2018 Christmas Eve celebration was the first in many years that did not include all the grandchildren. CJ along with his parents was already in Hawaii. That left 7 on the couch. See not only the grandchildren but the parents in photo at bottom of this post.

Christmas Eve 2019 was missing CJ, Ian and Chloe….leaving just 5 for the annual photo. Jomomma was more than a little disappointed. However, there is the Grand Dog, Mong Ryong…newly immigrated from Korea.

The new guests for both years are Jeremy and wife Chloe, who brought along this year, the new addition to their family, Mong Ryong. Is he not the sweetest thing? He makes more noise than me and his movements are quite erratic. We are soul brothers for certain. Everyone got a chance to hold him…here with Savannah. And as a side note, he has replaced me as the go to novelty. The grandchildren do not push my button as often as they used to. Must say as much as I like the new addition, I miss being the center of attention! And I miss my dance and musical addition to the evening.

Now that the grand children are no longer children…the mood has shifted. It is different, but now some of the older folk are reverting to their playful encounters…always a little fun and drama to move the evening along. This year, 2019, Jomomma decided to introduce a white elephant gift exchange. Every year she manages to wind up with a leftover or two when it comes to games and other interesting items. She will find something on sale, or something that she is certain would be fun to have and use…and then forget about it. Since she is downsizing a bit this year she wrapped up 20 presents, and had all the guests plus Papa Bear play the game. It was fun as some of the gifts were duds and some were quite popular…the trading and taking turned into a great fun time. It was good to engage everyone at the same time.

Another change this year was the setting up and taking down. It was a solo trip for Jomomma…schedules and lack of interest left her alone for the routine. My opinion is that she started off a little sad, but then she made it a thoughtful and organized journey. She might just be morphing into another phase.

Time to turn it over to Miranda as she always has more news and insight than I do. The angel ornaments have all the scoop, and they have so many more memories than the rest of us…just because some of them are so old they are antiques!

Miranda Speaks

So, Olaf is a bit cheeky this year…he got new batteries, and all of sudden, he is energized and so very youthful! I, on the other hand, am reminded that I am not so young anymore. Jomomma and I are very much in sync with one another, so much so, that I actually feel her emotions as if they were my own.

These past two years have been change points for us. We are letting go of some tradition, and we are setting off in new directions. I have my view from the very tip top of the tree, and from that great vantage point, I see so much. I know it sounds strange, but I feel the weight of all the special ornaments when Jomomma places them on the branches of the tree, not to mention the ones that now have their own special niches around the room. How do I describe this phenomenon? I think that these small trinkets carry great emotion and narrative with them. Jomomma thinks so too, as she expresses the feelings and memories of Christmas Past as she takes them from storage and finds just the right place for them.

It was just us, Jomomma (Rags) and myself, with the ornaments this year…the angels and the tree ornaments all have a story. However, this year it was a bit different, as we spread out over the table next to the tree. The memories flooded in as stories for Rags as she reminisced about our beginning. She was remembering her first Christmas with her Stepdad, Tony (it was with this new father that Montie Jo became Rags who later became Jomomma). This is when I came to be a part of the family that was newly formed when Violet married Tony. The family consisted of Jomomma, her two sisters and her mother. New family, new Christmas Tree with New Angel Topper!

All the childhood memories filled our space, and to say we were melancholy would be a grievous understatement. First the ornaments that came from her early “mom” years…then the new era as a single mom. This era is the time when my charges began to enter the scene, as this is when Jomomma began to trade angels with her sisters annually. I will introduce you to that crew in another post…as Jomomma keeps promising me my own time and space to tell my stories. And lastly, we unwrapped, and touched and recalled the memories of the last twenty some years with all the children and the grandchildren. This last era also includes the introduction of another family…Papa Bear, Jeremy and Sis along with our added holiday Hanukkah! With the inclusion of this other holiday, we also need to welcome the Hanukkah Bear to the family. Let’s loan him our voice for a bit!

The Bear Speaks

Oh, Hi! I guess it is my turn. I am a little shy as this is the first time I have been able to share my story. Olaf and Miranda are so kind as they were the first to welcome me to the Ornament Family. I am a stuffed bear that has been around for quite awhile as I was a gift to Jomomma and Papa Bear from some of the grand kids one year. Then Jomomma, who loves costumes, pressed me into service to deliver a wedding anniversary present to Papa Bear. I, wearing a lovely pink shirt, and gorgeous tie, holding a huge card balanced on my lap. I was positioned at Papa Bear’s work desk…I was a surprise! Jomomma and Papa Bear are all about surprising each other.

It was not until a few years ago that I got another gig and became the Hanukkah Bear. It came about when Jomomma found the Festival of Lights sweater on a sales table a few years ago. Who was small enough to wear it? Who was patient enough to sit in a corner for eight days and nights for the Hanukkah and Christmas Celebrations? Just ME!

So, now when December rolls around, I get all dressed up and man the Hanukkah Corner. This Jewish holiday overlaps the Christmas Holidays and we all celebrate together. Typically, we coordinate the tree decorating party with the first lighting of the Menorah. And we also rekindle the candles on Christmas Eve. We usually have one or more of the grand kids around to help with the ceremony. These last two years it has been such a great pleasure to have Jeremy home to light the candles with his dad, Papa Bear.

I love being a part of this combined celebration that is so inclusive of traditions and the many wonderful characters that Jomomma gathers around herself. My sweater has lights that twinkle as the candles illuminate my little corner for eight straight nights, as we all celebrate the Festival of Lights! Back to you Miranda…thanks for including me!

Miranda Speaks

It is such a pleasure to once again share the Christmas Miracle with you! Each time I am unwrapped and then put away again, I give thanks for the families that I am a part of. This family shrinks and grows but it continues. Jomomma and I share the memories of the past and the anticipation of the things to come.

Olaf Speaks

We come to the end of this installment. Jomomma and Miranda have promised more stories and I am looking forward to hearing them THIS year! Am not promising what is not under my control, but after all they are using my voice…so I expect to be included! Remember, Our miracle is always the sweet promise of another season and the knowledge that the best is yet to come.