Saying Goodbye

When I was in elementary school we made a Christmas ornament every year in school. Yes, I went to a public school...and yes, it was legal and acceptable for us to make an ornament for our Christmas tree. It's not like these pointed to Jesus...but they were pretty cool crafts.

And I kept my ornaments in a Winnie the Pooh shoe box. And I loved them dearly.

I put them up every year with reverence and joy. And even after Rog & I got married, they were a part of my tree. But over time, there has been less room on the tree for them. Finally, with new ornaments for my kids added each year...my box stayed closed.

I had grand hopes. I was going to find a generic Christmas quilt and put my special ornaments on display. Year after year I planned this quilt in my head.

This year, with our much taller tree, I opened the box. And as I looked at my ornaments, I realized that some of them just didn't make the journey to the tree as well as they had in my heart. And so I knew it was time to say goodbye.

And I cried. Cried for my childhood friends who were now leaving. Cried for the times I lovingly put them on the tree and for the times I would no longer have them to remember. I took their picture and let them go with many tears.

Goodbye my friends! I wish Christmas felt the same as it did back when I made you. I pray that the wonder I felt then would be found in that Winnie the Pooh shoe box when I open it again next year.