Cleaning House

Today I took the ornaments off the tree and carefully boxed them up. Somehow I've managed to keep a lot of antique (old!) ornaments over the years. Many of them hold memories--there is the little donkey that was Van's as he grew up, a painted snowflake my visiting teacher in Alaska made for me, some wooden ornaments that the girls and I painted back in Blackfoot when we lived out in Rose. I love the old glass ball ornaments that have survived many packings. Some I bought at the DI our first year in Salmon after the Alaskan Adventure. I bought sweaters and dolls and pretty much all our Christmas there. So many Christmases, marking our years with a Christmas tree and decorations, no matter how humble. I used to think I'd like to have a tree like they have in ZCMI, matching ornaments, coordinated to a theme. Never managed. I am too sentimental, and maybe too frugal ( read that as cheap!) I also took the other decorations downstairs to store for the year--the wreathe I bought this year, the snowglobe from 2002 when the boys and I lived on South Mountain. As I vacuumed the rooms, I thought of a line from one of Emily Dickenson's poems:" the sweeping of the house the morning after death is solemnest of rituals performed upon this earth.." Thank goodness no one died this year, but the old year has passed away, and a new one rises ahead of us. So another note from Mom goes out to all I have and haven't managed to hug during this holiday season. My goodness! I love you all so much! Love, Mom