It never seems to fail. Every year, I toss out a strand of
lights. A few bulbs go out and so half a
string of lights are left in the dark and these days it’s cheaper to just go
buy another box of lights, then to waste my time trying to find that one bulb
that’s ruined it for all the other lights.
I don’t have the patience for it, first off, and second, I’d rather be
writing about a guy fighting a strand of Christmas lights than actually doing
it myself.
My dad would have done it. He would spend hours switching bulbs around
until he found the culprit that was delaying his holiday decorating. His sense of satisfaction at having succeeded
would glow brighter than the lights themselves.
Not me. I wad them up, toss them
in the trash, and send Zac to go buy another box. I know some of you are saying it’s a waste of
money, but it’s my money to waste, so stay out of it. Besides, these are just lights and I’m not
attached to them. Therefore, I don’t
hesitate; I just toss.
As I said, though, those were
just lights. I bought them as we needed
them and none are that old, less than a decade, to be honest, because no one
makes quality Christmas lights anymore.
That’s probably why they are so cheap.
The lights weren’t handed down to me as some family heirloom. They’re just department store lights. No big deal.
Other decorations, however, are
another story. These are filled with
emotion and sentiment; memories. These
you do your best to hold onto. At least,
I do.
Certain aromas can carry us back
in time. Songs tend to have that same
power. So do decorations. We pull it out of the box knowing that it’s
already broken, and the minute our eyes land on it, we are transported back in
time to other memories that bring a smile to our face and a tear to our
eye. We see the people associated with
that particular ornament or decoration.
We hear their voices, feel their touch, see their smile, and our hearts
are heavy with the memory and the loss.
For a moment, they are with us again.
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Or memories of lost pets |
It is for that reason we hold
onto them, even though they may never get displayed again or hang from a
Christmas tree. We have a box among our
decorations for that very reason. Inside
can be found a broken Santa, a faded snowman candy dispenser, and a toy Santa that
at one time walked after being wound up.
Ancient and broken, they’re out of place with the newer, more modern
decorations. Yet, they are much too
valuable to throw away, for they connect us still to grandparents and parents
who have passed on. They also remind us
of our children when they were younger and still had visions of sugar plums
dancing in their heads. The hardened
macaroni may be falling off, but it still looks brand new to a parent with
nostalgic eyes. We can even hear the
prepubescent “Look, Mom and Dad! I made
it all by myself.” Once again our cheeks
puff up with a smile of pride as we hold it up and inspect it all anew.
While these decorations may be kaput,
they are sometimes the glue that holds the Christmas memories together. While our children may toss them once we have
passed from this earth as mere broken relics of a bygone day they never knew,
we will continue to pull them out every year, hold them for a few moments as
their magic carries us back in time to visit family that we can no longer
visit. This is our memory chest, and we
hold it close every year. The
decorations are broken and faded, but the faces they bring to mind are fixed
just as they were when we last laid eyes on them in our own aging minds. While newer decorations may be pricey, the
broken ones of years past are priceless.
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For Further Reading ~ The Decorations of Nostalgia
This is a beautiful post. I just put up my tree last Friday, and each of the ornaments took me back to a time long ago. A broken ornament is like a broken memory to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the lights! I will toss those infernal things in a second rather than looking for "the culprit".
Happy Thursday!
Thank you :) I tossed three sets yesterday alone lol. And a Happy Thursday to you, as well.
DeleteSorry to be negative but this sounds like hoarding behavior to me. You do not need broken decorations to remember your loved ones and your past.
ReplyDeleteNo worries. I guess if I kept the broken lights or every single decoration it would be hoarding, but a couple of decorations is far from hoarding. I'm glad you stopped by and commented. Thanks!
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