A Christmas Rummage Sale

Ornaments and More Ornaments

Ornaments and More Ornaments ©2008

All my kids are finally home for the Holidays and I made them all promise that, at the first available moment, we would all gather together for a special ceremony – Mom’s De-cluttering Hour.

In 33 Christmas seasons, my family has amassed an alarming array of Christmas decorations. When I went into the basement at the beginning of the month, I was surprised to find eight boxes marked Christmas Decorations. There were three boxes of tree ornaments alone. Way too much stuff as far as I’m concerned. After we decorated the house, gently decorated, not crammed with bric-a-brac everywhere, we had five boxes of decorations that we had once happily used, but that we no longer wanted nor needed. I immediately had visions of throwing all the extras in the car and dashing to Goodwill, but then inspiration struck.

My kids had grown up with these decorations. Just because the Santas and sparklies didn’t fit into my celebration mode now, it didn’t mean they held no importance for my children.  So I gave each of my kids a call, asked them if they’d be interested in a Christmas decoration rummage sale – with one special clause. There would be no price tags. They could come, browse, and take whatever they wanted. Then whatever remained we would donate to others looking for new holiday decorations. All three kids were enthusiastic about the idea.

And so we gathered this afternoon.  In less than 30 minutes, all the decorations were sorted into four boxes – older daughter, son, younger daughter, Goodwill. And in those 30 minutes, I discovered a little something about the different personalities of my three 20-something children.

My eldest picked up everything that caught her eye, loved the bright ornaments and table decorations, and often took a trinket if I told her it was something her great-grandmother had crafted. She even took slightly imperfect ornaments, certain she could make the necessary repairs.  (And she can – she supports herself as a maintenance person while going to school.)  She easily filled two boxes and then some. But at one moment, when she picked up one of the few items her brother showed an interest in, she quickly gave it to him without a quibble.

My middle child gathered the few things that were specifically his: a Baby’s First Christmas ornament engraved with the year of his birth; a miniature baseball slugger; an Oscar the Grouch in his trash can ornament.  He picked up an Advent calendar and remarked how he remembered moving the little mouse from hole to hole until the 24th hole was reached and he knew that the next day would be Christmas Day. He wanted that calendar. Then he remarked that he didn’t really want stuff to just have stuff. He filled a small shoebox, and he was more than satisfied.

My youngest picked all the basics: place mats; tablecloths; a dozen, plain gold baubles for the tree.  She asked for the tree skirt, the one I had embroidered more than three decades ago as a young wife preparing for my first married Christmas. She filled a box, but her items were quite bulky and all rather sensible.

It was interesting to see how each reacted in their own, different way, what things each one found to be important.

At the end, we filled another 3 boxes with very usable items that we will deliver first thing to the neighborhood Goodwill store. I know it’s very close to Christmas, but maybe some last minute shopper will be able to find a few decorations to add to their Holiday celebration.

And after the first of the year, when we return everything to the basement shelves for another year, I will have successfully done some serious de-cluttering. That’s a grand way to celebrate this season as far as I’m concerned.

As the years start to accumulate, I find that the simpler is the better.

Shadows of Leaves – Great Sand Dunes Nature Trail

Illusion

On Great Sand Dunes Nature Trail © 2008 Bo Mackison

Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world. ~ Arnold Newman  (American photographer)

Anything for a Distraction

Don’t Quit Playing

Thanks to Amuirin at Stop and Wander for the meme nomination. I’ll play along, since I haven’t done anything for the last four days, except clean my house in preparation for the soon-to-be Thanksgiving festivities. And I’m a little desperate for any distraction.

(Here are the rules, in case you’ve been in another galaxy for the last decade and don’t know what a meme is: Players start with 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged should post these rules and then post 7 random facts. Players should tag 7 other people and notify them that they’ve been tagged.)

Hmm. Okay, I can do the random facts part.

1. I’ll start with a Thanksgiving fact. I haven’t hosted Thanksgiving for 30 years. That was the last time I was ever asked to cook the T-day bird. I was a novice in the holiday kitchen then, and left the packet of giblets in the turkey cavity to combine with the undercooked stuffing, and I made the only vegetable casserole I knew how to bake – the (in)famous green bean-mushroom soup-fried onion rings from a can combo. Pathetic.

2. This year I volunteered for the job, figuring everyone had finally forgotten about 1978. They had, and they all accepted the invitation. I know a lot more about cooking for a crowd this time around. A crowd of 16 to be exact. But that doesn’t really matter, because I’m handing chef responsibilities over to my husband.

3. When I was in high school, I marched in a Color Guard. We traveled all over the East and Midwest. When we marched in the Cherry Blossom Parade in DC, we met then President Richard Nixon. (Yeah, he was the prez!) We presented him with a gift – a baseball style cap with the patch of the color guard sewn on it. I did the sewing, and in a moment of anticipated fame, I stuck my personalized card under the patch. Obviously done in the hopes that on a future day I could visit the Presidential Library and admire the cap in person. Obviously, that day will never transpire.

4. I grew up in a four-generation home. Not only did my parents get to tell me what to do, my grandparents and my great-grandmother also got in their two shakes of advice, for whatever it was worth. I was also taught the ways of their worlds. By the time I was 13, I could garden, sew, knit, tat, embroidery, darn a sock, crochet, and pull taffy. I, however, did not learn how to make a Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately. (See # 1 if you’ve already forgotten why.)

5. When I was a student living in Chicago, I went to a Led Zeppelin concert. Our tickets were in the third row from the ceiling in Chicago Stadium. That was the night I discovered I have a moderate degree of acrophobia. That’s fear of heights in plain English.

6. I took four years of Latin in high school. I can decline Latin nouns and verbs with ease, but I cannot speak any language other than English. I have since tried taking other language courses, and my brain has thus far refused to master even basic phrases if not written in Latin or English. I deeply regret this.

7. I’m an introvert and don’t pass on tags.

So, no tagging, though if you want to play, feel free. I break chain letters and refuse to follow recipes, too. But I do make a mean green bean casserole.

Spirit of the Tree

The Last Hurrah

Last Hurrah © 2008 Bo Mackison

When you can see each leaf as a separate thing, you can see the tree, you can feel the spirit of the tree, you can talk to it, and maybe you can begin to learn something.
~ William J Bausch

I guess if I’m going to learn anything, I’d better be quick about it. I think perhaps these are the only two leaves left in my neck of the woods. Wonder if I can study the snowflakes that are falling today instead. Not much accumulation though.

Does anyone remember catching snowflakes on black construction paper and looking at them with a magnifying glass. I think my Grandpa took me out snowflake spying when I was about six years old.

Do kids do still do that kind of thing?

Of the People, By the People, For the People…

Wisconsin State Capitol at Midnight

Wisconsin State Capitol at Midnight © 2008 Bo Mackison

…from the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln, and quoted by Obama during his victory speech at Grant Park on Election Night.

We celebrate a new day, a new era, and the election of the new President of the United States, Barack Obama.