Slices of Life @ Two Writing Teachers
Thanks Stacey and Ruth for supporting this writing opportunity!
I am looking at everything differently as a writer...
As I put up the Christmas tree and the whole family joined in to help, my heart filled with cheer! Everyone worked together to join in fanning the branches for the tree including little Nat. We all laughed as she stole daddy's gloves and put them on her hands to try and be like everyone else! Kam knew just when to hand me the Angel. And then, the big test-how would it look when the lights were off and only the tree was lit? PERFECT!
The next day, we added the ornaments onto the tree...as I looked at the process with writers eyes, I noticed something special about all of the ornaments that were added. They told the story of our lives together! I never really paid this much attention to the pictorial history of the ornaments. So I grabbed my phone and snapped some pictures as a timeline of our lives...
Here are some of those snapshots...
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| Our first Christmas-married... |
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| The stork brought Kameron-our son! |
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| Kam fell in love with Thomas! |
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| We moved into our new house! |
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| Kam's visit with Santa-2008 |
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| Natalie arrived-2010 |
Wearing the writer's lenses makes me see life differently these days...I am thankful for this vision as it's a blessing to notice these details. What details do you notice with "writer's eyes"?Two Writing TeachersTwo Writing Teachers
What a lovely piece about how your "writerly eyes" see otherwise routine events in life. I too see the pieces of shells collected from vacation and the treasured ornaments of family members no longer with us as memories rather than ornaments. Thanks for sharing your memories...maybe NEXT week, I'll have a tree up!
ReplyDeleteAnita,
DeleteGood luck with getting your tree up! It's such a busy time of year-hope the pace slows and you're able to enjoy some R n R!
Amy,
ReplyDeleteYou should turn your pictures into a poem. Every year, I not only relive our whole 30 years of marriage, but I also see the 20 something of teaching through ornament gifts. My tree is standing bare right now until I find the time to decorate it. My daughter comes home from graduate school this weekend, so maybe I will wait for her.
Thanks for sharing your lovely tree and memories.
Margaret,
DeleteThanks for the idea of turning them into a poem! Will work on that!
Have fun with your daughter!
DeleteEnjoyed your ornaments! I had silver ones for each of my children, each year, but now they have them for their trees.
ReplyDeleteNowadays my tree is 18" tall and artificial. It reminds me to take delight in the little things. I'll post tomorrow about it!
Donna,
DeleteYou sound like my mom-she and my dad now have a small tree they get out every year-will check in on your post to see how it turned out!
Amy, I was also thinking how ornaments really do or at least should tell a story of our lives. I was picking out an ornament for niece just last weekend and thinking about which ones have a meaning for her. Bringing them out once a year does give us a warm feeling in our hearts...great pictures!
ReplyDeleteLynn,
DeleteThanks-it was great enjoying the time-living in the moment. We will never have this moment again!
Love Thomas the Tank engine, with whom we spent many a day! Hanging up the ornaments and remembering is one of my favorite Christmas things to do.
ReplyDeleteTara,
DeleteHow old were the children when they loved Thomas? Kameron was so into it!
Love your ornaments. Tomorrow for 12/12/12 I am writing about my 12 favorite Christmas ornaments, so your slice got me thinking and writing!
ReplyDelete12/12/12-great idea!
DeleteWe have an even dozen cookie exchange tomorrow! Ironic I think!
I love this! I enjoy putting ornaments on the tree with my children each year. They always ask to hear the stories behind each ornament. Each year I am happy to tell them. Oh the memories! This year I realized that there isn't an ornament on our tree that doesn't have a story behind it and I absolutely love that most of them are either made by my children or are connected to them in some way. Thanks for sharing...it has sparked some ideas of my own!
ReplyDeleteI did write down the little stories on the cards that came in the boxes-some didn't have any so I just wrote them on index cards-I have to do better though because I've been slacking on this the last few years!
DeleteWhat a great question: "What do you notice with writer's eyes?" I'll be keeping it top of mind.
ReplyDeleteWhat a journey those ornaments take you on. I loved taking a peek at those beautiful ornaments since it's something quite different than how we mark occasions. What a lovely tradition.
Stacey,
DeleteThanks, glad you enjoyed the journey-I would love to learn more about your traditions as well!
I'm just getting ready today to begin setting up the tree in my new home, Amy, & will cherish each memory as I get out the ornaments. This is beautifully written, a real capturing of your family's time together. I love getting a peek at you & your husband! Thanks for starting me down this Christmas path!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
DeleteHope you enjoy getting your tree up!
I wrote a poem about a special ornament after I helped my mom with her tree.http://newtreemom.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/the-reindeer/
ReplyDeleteI haven't put up my own tree yet. Like yours, it tells the story of a family. Tucked into one of the boxes of decorations is a list of the special ornaments my daughter received every year since her first(now she is 19)-from mom & dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends, as well as some that she made in school that we could preserve... she is not nearly as sentimental as I am, but still, I know one day she will be glad to have both the list and the ornaments to choose from for her own tree.
I read your poem! Love it! Also, I bet your daughter will definitely appreciate the list of the stories behind the ornaments.
DeleteI smiled as I read this. So beautiful to walk through those memories. I know you found such joy in that.
ReplyDeleteDana,
DeleteGlad this brought a smile to your face! You're right about the joy I found in putting up the tree as well as writing about it!
What a great idea to create a timeline using ornaments. I always feel a little swept up in how much my children have grown when we put their preschool ornaments up and their homemade crafts from years past. This post was a treat and I agree that keeping on your writer's lens opens all kind of doors that lead to noticing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Betsy!
DeleteDo you keep a list of who made what and when?
I've been thinking about taking photos of my ornaments and writing a bit about each one. It would make a lovely book to pack away with the ornaments and of course, could be updated each year. Your post makes it look so easy. You probably know the book, Christmas Tree Memories by Aliki. It's a personal favorite. Decorating the tree is the ultimate time to remember special memories.
ReplyDeleteRamona,
ReplyDeleteI don't know that book -thanks for the suggestion!
How lovely! Those family memories are so precious. Thanks for sharing! Maybe this year I'll make a bit of a photo diary of some of my family ornaments too.
ReplyDelete