Sunday, December 25, 2011

I know it has been awhile

This young lady has graced the Thompson tree tops for 49 years. For the the majority of those years our oldest child has been the one to set it in place atop the tree. Our very first Christmas we had a tree with blue balls that my husband wired up with tiny lights inside. We thought we were very cool! However the very next year we found this pretty little angel in a local florist shop and we never looked back. Early on she sat on daddy's shoulder, graduated to a step stool and finally for about nine years she placed the angel on top by climbing upstairs and reaching down to put her in place. We have a lot of sentiment for this piece. tattered though she is we can't bring ourselves to replace her. We tried for a few years to get another so we could preserve the original with no luck. So she will probably fall completely apart some day but she has had a good run.

It has been awhile what with life and now Christmas. I don't have much in the way of quilting to speak about but what I do have is awesome. My daughter gifted me with the book, "The Quilter's Hall of Fame" It is beautiful. The images take my breathe away. There are stories about some of our favorite quilters. Go look, you are going to want this book too.

The photo above is my Christmas tree this year. It is four feet tall, the smallest tree I ever remember having. I have taken a number of pictures during the day, morning and afternoon, even at night but no matter what it looks like a Charley Brown tree. Now I admit this is not my usual style. My trees are usually very sentimental, with ornaments I made myself perhaps, often ornaments made especially for me by dear friends and family. I usually begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. But things have not been usual for awhile. My time to get ready for Christmas is not the same anymore. So I did most of my shopping online and haunted the mail box everyday because I was so worried someone would be slighted if their gift was late in coming.

That day after Thanksgiving when I decided to begin sprucing up for the holiday it hit me. There was no way I could put a tree on the floor. Never mind that two year old Lulu would be here but a big tree would get in the way of home therapy which we do every day seven days a week. Wheel chairs, hemi-canes, splints, towel slides, braces, OT, PT and ST rule the day in this house. So, move over Charley Brown, we are here.
I bought this tree last year. This tree is seven feet tall and decorated more in my style. Dale was not home yet. He had spent a month in the hospital and was transferred to Quail Creek, a skilled nursing facility to spend his 100 days. We celebrated Thanksgiving in the hospital and Christmas in the care center. He came home in late March and the tree and decorations were there for him to see.

Now this tree was our first tree in Missouri. Nine feet with a lot of room to spare. Loved it, but they last only so long. There were some wonderful as well as sad times. This is the only tree we had that actually was not decorated that first year. Bare. Fifty years together and one undecorated tree. Depression can be a very bad thing. However we weathered that storm and moved on. As I write this I realize it is probably boring to all of you. I have come to believe that boring can be a good thing. I hope that you have had a wonderful holiday and if not that you are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Merry Christmas to you and yours. I hope you are surrounded by those you love and those who love you back,

5 comments:

Sharon Stroud said...

Hi, Nadine--Thank you so much for sharing your heartfelt story. When you look back over the past year, you should be proud of all you've come through. Change is hard, but you've continued to move forward. And Dale is still with you. You will never regret the actions you are taking now to make a better life for both of you. Merry Christmas to you both, and may the new year see you both happy and healthy.

Heather said...

I truly feel the difficulties you must be facing now. My son was in a near fatal car accident 2 years ago in early November. That Thanksgiving he was in a coma and Christmas was spent in a rehab facility. This year, after much work and many surgeries he is nearly recovered and things are much better and we finally put up a full size tree and decorated for Christmas. I wish you both continued progress towards a brighter future.

Kathy said...

Nadine, I remember your white tree. I thought it was so beautiful. You were always my inspiration in my own holiday decorating. Of course over the years mine sometimes went a bit over the top, but lately I have been able to rein it in to a certain degree. Love you much. Kathy

Anonymous said...

You made this Christmas fabulous, Mom. I love you no matter the tree, no matter the year, no matter our challenges. ~Kelly

unDeniably Domestic

John said...

Me too.