It’s very early Saturday morning and yes I am up. Its my favorite morning as it is my “me time”. Saturday morning is the one day of the week where the house is quite, where I truly have the time to stop, pause, and reflect.
As I’m sitting here enjoying the first of what will be many cups of coffee, I find myself staring at the Christmas tree and all the various ornaments that Mrs. Zimmerman has so carefully and meticulously positioned on the tree. Now understand that these aren’t your run of the mill store bought package of ornaments. (Mrs. Z would never stand for that) They are an eclectic collection of memories of all the life experience that we have enjoyed together over the years.
The tree is covered with special memories and milestones from various times in our lives. Each ornament has its own significant meaning, special memory, and comes from a specific time. From when we were first married, to babies first Christmas, to current times, many of our most precious times are on our tree.
Our tree has ornaments that were gathered from the variety of family vacations and different places that we have visited over the years. There’s the miniature version of the Disney Wonder cruise ship, the Hawaiian Santa, and a canoe from that crazy vacation in Steamboat. There is even this weird looking Santa Claus that we bought when we first started dating. The funny thing is, at the time, neither one of us had two nickels to rub together yet we bought that goofy looking Santa ornament.
We have many of those handmade ornaments with the kids pictures on them that they made in day care and elementary school. Even the star is made out of construction paper with pictures glued on from when my youngest, (now 17) was in pre-school. There are individual ornaments that reflect the interest of each of us. There are needlepointed ornaments, Barbie’s, football players, ice hockey players, and my favorite, miniature Stanley Cups and Super Bowl trophies.
Christmas trees come in all different shapes as sizes and are decorated in various forms. They also mean different things to different folks. For some people the Christmas tree is merely another form of decoration. A place to put presents and gifts. For us, the Christmas tree and all the various ornaments are a reflection of life and symbolize the many gifts that we have been blessed with. Has our life always been easy? Certainly not. But I am grateful for what I have and for the people in my life.
As you approach the busy holiday season, remember to take some time for reflection. Count your blessing, and remember that old “Attitude of Gratitude”. Stealing a line from my favorite holiday classic, A Christmas Story “I triple dog dare ya”.
Peace.
Categories: Views / Opinions
Bruce Zimmerman . . . 
Awesome blog. Very much appreciate the thoughts. I view ours the same way. Happy New Year.
John,
Thank you for stopping by and for your comments. I hope the New Year brings you and the family all the very best.