It’s a Christmas Miracle! Installment #2
Narrated by Olaf the Nutcracker
Well, here we are again. More than a little late with the posting—two Christmas Eves have come and gone since our first installment. It has been a busy time for Jomomma, and we have seen more than a few changes. Even with the entire “goings on”, 2016 and the 2017 celebrations turned out quite well. If you missed the first Christmas Miracle post…just click on OLAF and travel back a couple years to see how this tradition got started…a worthy journey or just a nice revisit!
As hinted at in the first installment, she did it! Yes, she bought a new Christmas tree. And while it is not a whole lot larger than the old one, it is nicer. It is fuller and the pine needles (fake of course) look almost real…spray a little “Blue Spruce” around the room and it is magical!
Jomomma, as usual, is all about tradition, however, in an attempt to put Miranda on the top of the new tree it all went awry. Miranda actually took a fall from the top branch and broke her wings…well thank goodness for “Gorilla Glue” is all I can say. Last year we had a tin star from Mexico on the top of the tree…a new experience. Chanukah got more than a glance that year as the big stuffed bear is now a permanent holiday guest with his coolest Festival of Lights sweater which is pre lit, just like the tree!
Along with the changes came a division of labor. While I retained my space on the entryway shelf and duties as the greeter extraordinaire, Miranda took on a new chore and space atop the china closet. From that higher and more stable vantage point, she presented the choir of angels. Miranda may as well take over here as she is excited to share with you all about the changes in her world!
Miranda Speaks
It is a long time since we last conversed. Christmas came with some excitement and newness two times since the first installment of our Christmas Miracle. As Olaf mentioned, the tree is new and quite lovely. Since it is not much larger, Jomomma solved the ornament overload situation quite nicely. She acquired some special ornament holders…little metal devices that look just like miniature coat/hat trees. This allowed her to put some of the larger more delicate ornaments out of harm’s way…keeping them from falling off their precarious home on the tree to the concrete floor, where the slightest bump sends the precious mementos crashing and smashing into a thousand pieces.
She tried to install me on the tiptop of the new tree…afraid that effort ended with a big tumble. Since I am 100% plastic, the broken wings were easily repaired. However, one year on the top of the china cabinet was way too tame for me…I overcame my vertigo and Jomomma agreed to put me back on the tree. This last year, I reigned over the festivities from my well-earned perch.
My sojourn atop the china cabinet was interesting. I was in charge of the Choir of Angels. You see, a long time ago Jomomma and her sisters traded angels every Christmas…so there is a collection that is quite intriguing. They all have a story which they shared with me. So, my little detour to the top shelf was worthwhile. I have much to share about my choir of angels and that story is way too wordy for this post. Jomomma has promised me a space on the blog for that future piece. I promise to hold her to it by writing a whimsical and thoughtful tome very soon.
We marked many changes within our family over these two years. There were some additions and deletions as the guest list grew and then diminished. While we had all the grandchildren both years, this last year some of the parents were absent. Some new alignments are afoot and not all that unusual. People move away, and some come home, I expect that there will always be change.
Some loss and change came about with the passing of Jomommas’ friend Sally. And then there was a divorce in the family this year, and unlike my mended wings, this breakage is still too fresh for any healing to take place. But a new daughter was added with the marriage of the youngest, Jeremy (of course Jeremy and bride Chloe were not physically here for Christmas Eve…but did FaceTime in). There will certainly be some missing pieces in the years to come as Janet and family have moved to Hawaii. There will be that first year when we will not have all the grandchildren on the sofa for the mandated photograph. This life is a journey for us all, and we will find our wholeness again! After all this is the time and place for new beginnings and the packing away of bittersweet memories. The Miracle is still the energy of renewed spirit that surges through the house, and the sense of gratefulness for all things great and small…And the Christmas Miracle of love and renewal.
Olaf Speaks
Here we are! Still singing, dancing, laughing and crying. It will be an awesome Christmas Eve in 2018 and I will be the sentry in the entryway. Miranda will be looking down from the top of the tree and, yes, the Chanukah Bear—he will be back in the corner lights and all. Notice the pictures of the grandchildren from Christmas 2016 and 2017…all squeezed together and all so big…they still like to push my button, and they still can’t wait to hear which charity will get their Christmas money this year…and that is another story. See you soon…only eight months until “SHOWTIME”!
