On the Sentimental Side~

I know it's a little late for this article, but I've been thinking about writing this since I decorated my Christmas tree this year! This is a first draft that I'll be working on to submit to a genealogy magazine later this year. Think I have time? :)



A memory and story in every Ornament-

I’m probably the only person who does this, but each year as I put my kid’s homemade Christmas ornaments on our tree, I think back to the year that each one had been made and visualize how that child looked right down to a particular outfit and even the words he or she spoke during that period of time. You know those delicate the ornaments made of clay, paper and even pretzels! I treasure them all.

But, this year it was even worse. When I placed each homemade ornament that had been passed down to me on the tree, I thought about what my ancestor’s lives must have been like.

My mind traveled back to another time and place as I placed an ornament my paternal great grandmother, Linda made over 75 years ago. Do you remember the handmade ornaments? This ornament made painstakingly by placing sparkly bead after sparkly bead with stickpins placed through the middle into a Styrofoam ball and then lined with felt. Light shines through the pink and purple beads creating a shiny ball of light. Stunning.

As I hold an ornament made of yarn that my maternal grandmother, Virginia was well known for making, I remember her smile, laugh and even the smell of her. I could see her with big goofy sunglasses, striped socks and long dangly earrings along with her wavy gray hair in disarray. I remember the smell of homemade goodies of fudge, peanut brittle, thousands of different kinds of cookies and cakes. Oh, I can smell them all now. How can one little ornament have such an effect?

Of course that made me think of my maternal great-grandmother, Lizzie whom I’d never even met. Really, I don’t know why. But, I did. Maybe it was the Christmas picture frame ornament with a picture of my mom at a young age that made me think about it. My mom was named after her. I wondered what Lizzie’s life was like. Family tradition tells me that Lizzie worked hard to support her family by washing laundry for others in a large round tub she placed on the stove. She had to support her family when he husband left her with many small children to take care of on her own. During a diphtheria outbreak, she took two of her young girls to the hospital, but they died shortly thereafter. Then, two other children came down with the illness, but instead of taking them to the hospital, she decided to keep them home to care for them on her own. Lizzie nursed them back to good health.


Even commercial ornaments hold precious memories. My family has given me numerous ornaments that represent different phases in my life. Various shaped ornaments for the births of my children and others in the form of angels, which I love. I could go on and on. I’m sure others do this, right? Well, I could just be a tad bit sentimental.

But let’s face it; this is only a small glimpse into my family, and there are obviously so many others I think about. I wish I could really go back through time to see how my ancestors lived, but I can’t. I’ll have to settle for Christmas tree ornaments that keep traditions and wonder alive as I continue searching for more stories to bring to life.

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