Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office, Calif.
Here at Books & Such we’ve been blogging about our Christmas memories this month as a way for readers to get to know us better, outside of our professional selves. (Yes, Virginia, agents do have lives apart from publishing.) Our task this week was to remember a treasured Christmas ornament.
For me that’s easy.
The Christmas of 1971 I could hardly focus on Christmas festivities because my wedding was to be held at seven in the evening on December 31st—New Year’s Eve. Nobody told me that New Year’s Eve was a terrible night to get married. Or that getting reservations in the years to come for a nice, quiet anniversary dinner out would be nigh onto impossible. Not to mention that that we should have spread out our celebrating. After all, my birthday is December 30th. All my major celebrations occur in the same week– a week in which most people are broke, gifted-out and celebration-wearied.
It doesn’t matter, I still love my celebration week.
Our Wedding cake had the expected bride and groom, but on the very top layer two plastic turtle doves nested. Those two turtle doves became our very first Christmas tree ornaments. Over the years they’ve mellowed to an ivory color, but they have graced our tree every single year since. You’ll find them nestled in the uppermost branches.
Because this New Year’s Eve will mark forty years of marriage for us, these ornaments have become even more precious. Some things only improve with age.
So tell us about your most meaningful or your oldest ornament. We’re loving the shared stories!
Wendy, I love that! Happy early Anniversary! Doves seem to be the trend right now, but I’ve always loved them. My mom gave us a ceramic pair for our first Christmas and I still place them near the top of the tree every year–this year will make 16!
Merry Christmas!
I certainly see why Janet told me to be sure to read your post after my comment on hers yesterday.
What a great memory. So I guess that means Merry Christmas, happy birthday, and happy anniversary to you. Oh, let’s not forget happy New Year!
I think some of my oldest ornaments are ones that were owned by Aunt Jean and Uncle Phil many years before me. They’ve both gone home to be with their Lord now, but I have many of the handmade ornaments that sat on their tree. They are special and I hope they stay in good enough condition to pass on to my son, who also was lucky to know them.
Wendy, I hope your celebratory marathon week is a lovely one this year!
The oldest ornament on our tree is a little wooden painted sugarplum fairy from “the Nutcracker”. When we were young, my Grandma bought her for me, Clara for my sister, and the Nutcracker for my brother. I remember thinking that even though Clara was the star of the show, I had the better ornament of the two because she was painted in beautiful silvers and blues (… and a wand never hurts the appraisal when a little girl is doing the evaluating). My mom sent some of my childhood ornaments my way a few years ago, and the sugarplum fairy now graces the boughs of our tree each year.
Merry Christmas, happy birthday, happy anniversary, and happy new year!
Such sweet memories! One of our daughters also has a December 30 birthday, but her wedding anniversary is not until January 10. Maybe our someday-grandchildren will have summer birthdays?
Our tree holds several antique ornaments (multi-colored tin pinecones, a glass ornament with a paper angel and spun “angel hair” inside) handed down from my grandparents to my parents to me. We’ve broken a few through the years, but my favorite is not a true ornament at all. It’s a sweet little kitten-in-a-stocking card (the paper unfolds to give the stocking its length) sent by my maternal grandparents for my first Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa have lived in heaven for some time now, but the “lovingly, Grandma and Grandpa” on the stocking’s heel makes me smile every year.
I think what many of us are saying is that our ornaments are special because of the relationships they celebrate. That seems especially true in your case, Wendy. Congratulations!
Happy Early Birthday and Anniversary!!!
A friend of mine just sent me what each of the items in the 12 Days of Christmas means. Two Turtle Doves means the Old and the New Testament.