CHRISTMAS: The end of a tradition

I’m not getting a Christmas ornament this year. I knew this was eventually going to happen, but it’s still harder than I thought. 

Mom had gotten me an ornament every year of my life. The first one was before I was born, December of 1952. I came along in April of ‘53. Every year since (well every year I was award I got an ornament), I looked forward to Christmas day to see what I got. Some years, they were really cool. There was the skier, or the little horn that made a sound. I really liked the stuffed elf I got in the ‘70s. Maybe because I knew he wouldn’t break and it was fun hiding him somewhere in the tree. 

Others years’ ornaments were not as grand, but even in the “off-years,” I still thought, “this is pretty cool” and thanked mom. By then, I realized the effort it took and appreciated the tradition she started. 

When Christmas came around, my brother and I would get out our Christmas box and unwrap our past surprises. We’d compare whose ornament from a certain year looked the best. We’d laugh at the ones we both thought were goofy (there was a plastic choirboy or the paper elf playing a violin) and ooh and ahh at the ones that were cool. Each year, there was a contest to see who could place their spinning ornament so it turned the fastest. One year, I was the clear winner. That’s also the year I discovered if you placed it too close to a Christmas light, it melted the plastic. It was the last year I won that contest, but we laughed about that for years to come. 

The last couple of years, my ornament from mom was actually bought by my brother. I understood, mom wasn’t able to get out easily, but she still was concerned we got our ornament. 

Then, this year, my brother mentioned he wasn’t going to send one out. Mom’s still with us, but it’s not the same. She kept the tradition going for a long time, yet things change and this tradition has come to the end. I get it, I do, but it doesn’t make it any easier. In my head, I realized it couldn’t last, yet, in my heart, I wish it would never end. What I’m left with is a couple boxes of ornaments and years of fond memories. The tradition she started so long ago will be with me till I no longer remember, I always got an ornament from mom on Christmas.

M. BUZGA

Coeur d’Alene