Losing A Part Of My Past...

Being awake at 6am, I decided to get an early start of unpacking my Christmas decorations. 5 Totes, 15 boxes, 7 bags and 11 trees. After an hour of sorting I broke into tears. From the 11 trees I was left with of the original 13 last year, I'm now down to 6!! Also, several of my snowmen & santas were damaged, half of my 9 strands of lights aren't working, and I have several boxes vintage ornaments and an antique, metal tree stand missing.

For most people, they would be lucky to have one good tree, but my mother's addiciton to Christmas decorations was passed to me along with all of her decorations when she passed away 7 years ago. She loved the holiday so much, that she had a tree in every room. YES, EVERY ROOM...including laundry room and bathrooms. Her trees ranged in sizes from 9 feet down to 6 inches tall.

Along with each room having a tree, they also had a particular theme. Both bathrooms trees had mini seashell ornaments. The dining room tree was covered in angels. One of the bedroom trees was covered in Santas, one covered in snowmen, and one covered in teddy bears. The tree in the front room was covered in all things gold. The tree in the laundry room was covered in clothes pins and Barbie Doll clothes. The tree in the den was covered with stuffed animals & small toys. The tree in the formal living room was covered in vintage glass ornaments. She even had a tree in the kitchen covered with wooden utencils, cookie ornaments & real eggs with hand painted Christmas scenes. Then there were the two trees she had outside...one at the front door and one at the back door that only had colored lights.

Sadly, we're now down to both bathroom trees, the kitchen tree, the den tree (though this may be the 9 foot tall beauty's last year), the front room tree & the laundry room tree. Having to throw out so many trees, discovering the damaged decorations, and then seeing several things missing...well it was more than my heart could take. Slowly, with each year's passing, I'm losing all of the things that were my mother's. Each time something breaks, or comes up missing...I feel as if I'm losing her all over again.

I know they are just THINGS, but to me each item holds SO MANY memories. Family treasures that I looked forward to passing down to my children and my children's children. Though I have shared stories with my children, it just doesn't feel the same without holding certain objects in my hands. To be able to hold a part of history...our family's past.

It's very fitting that as I sit here typing away in tears, mourning the loss of these items, that the space shuttle heading to Florida should cross the Alabama skies & I heard the sonic boom...a marking of time for me to start creating new memories...