12/18/2022
This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote a few years ago for www.winesoakedramblings.com - all about a Christmas miracle that really happened. And ... the lesson it taught me.
One Christmas when my son was about 7, we were unpacking ornaments, preparing to decorate the tree. My mother had recently gifted me with her collection of antique baubles, some I had grown up with and some that she had grown up with (my grandmother’s). Not only were these treasures irreplaceable, they held huge sentimental value to me. I was terrified that my boy would accidentally drop one.
Guess what? He did. It was my second favorite growing up – a dark blue ball with a frosted white church (my favorite was dark pink with a frosty Santa and sleigh). The ornament shattered and so did I. And then I screamed a string of blistering accusations at my poor son, who stood there helplessly clutching the hook with rivers of tears flooding his little face.
And then it hit me. The ornament, precious as it was, was just a thing. But my baby was a living, breathing, sobbing, remorseful child and my reaction to this accident was killing him. I stopped my screaming immediately and scooped him into my arms. We sat on the sofa for a good fifteen minutes while I cuddled him, wiped away his tears and assured him that I knew he didn’t do it on purpose, I knew it was a special treasure but I also knew we had many more and I knew he was far more important than a thing.
And then something mysterious and other-worldly happened. We continued to unwrap the decorations and lo and behold, we came across another perfectly intact dark blue ball with a frosty white church. Now, I swear that we only had one when I was growing up so where this new (old) one came from is to this day a mystery. But it adorns our tree every year, now more gray than blue. And every year when we unpack ornaments my son (almost 30) frets about potentially breaking the “special” ones. And I remind him that if they break, they break. Things typically don’t last forever. What’s important is that those things brought us joy and helped us make marvelous memories.
Postscript: the church is hanging proudly on this year's tree. We haven't broken an antique ornament since that fateful night years ago. . We are careful but we don't fret. Because things are just things. And it's the people decorating the tree together that make the magic. (Vickie)