Our Story Tree

Last night, he had the joy of decorating our Christmas tree together.  It's something we've always done as a family and last night we were so happy to share that with T.  The best part about our Christmas tree is that is tells a story about us.  Our tree will never be department store worthy.  It will never have a theme, or matching glass balls.  It will never be featured anywhere but in our own photo albums.  Each ornament that we have tells a little bit about our history.  They've been collected on vacations, at specialty stores and online for a specific purpose.  They've been given to us as gifts from people who love us.  As we took each ornament out of the storage bin, we were able to tell T about where or who it came from and why it is special to us.  Here are a few examples:

One of the first ornaments that I ever gave B.  I like to write the year on the ornament somewhere and you can see that this one is from 2000.

We went on a wine tour in upstate NY around Keuka Lake with B's amazing aunt Cathy and uncle John one year.  We love them so much and treasure the time we share with them.

This is a more recent one B gave me.  He knows how much those silly Hoops and Yo-Yo characters make me laugh.  It was a year that I needed to smile a little more and he knew it.

If you've ever driven through RI on I-95, you've seen this giant blue bug on the side of the road.  You can also see this bug in the movie "Dumb and Dumber".  At Christmas time, they dress up the bug like Rudolph and he lights up the side of the highway.  I love this bug and was so excited to have a little bit of RI on our tree.

Some of our ornaments are more sentimental.  The reason behind these are hard to even write about, but through them, we can share with T more about her family and history.

We purchased this angel in the Outer Banks two years ago.  I had been looking for the perfect ornament that would represent the baby that we lost in 2008.  From the beginning of that pregnancy, I called the baby "Sweet Pea" and so on the inside of this angel, I've written "Sweet Pea, April 29, 2008".  Its a gentle reminder of the hope that was lost that day and then fulfilled with T's arrival.

This is "The Angel of Remembrance" from the Willow Tree collection that I purchased for B the Christmas after his brother Andrew passed away.  While B would never need an ornament to remind him of his brother, with this gift, I was able to show him that I would never forget him either.  I know how important it is to B that Andrew stays alive in our memories.  He even has a facebook page dedicated to him that even after all these years is very active.  Each year, as we take this ornament out of storage, we can tell our girls about their Uncle Andrew.

That same year, B had some ornaments made from photos of our cats and dog, and the one above.  This picture is the last one taken of the brothers just a month before Andrew's accident.  B is in the middle with M on the left and Andrew on the right.  This one reminds us regularly to treasure the family we have and every moment we have with them - you never know when it will be the last.

So, that's our tree and why I would never want it to be anything else.  It's the story of us and how we got to this point in our lives.

Fond memories

Last week, we said goodbye to my grandmother.  She was my dad's mom, and until I was 11, the only grandmother I knew.  Because my dad didn't get along with my mom's family, until their divorce, we only spent time with his side.  So, for 11 years, we spent summer afternoons, holidays, and birthdays with my Grandma.  After the divorce, I didn't get to see her as much.  She was always very kind and welcoming to my mom and I still spent some weekends with her, but our lives got busy and there was less and less time to go see Grandma.  I haven't spent much time with her over the past 20 years, but I do still have many fond memories of her that I would like to share.
My Grandma was Miss Massachusetts!  Pretty cool, huh?  She survived three husbands and one of her five biological children (three girls and two boys).  She also adopted three more children (one girl and two boys), one of whom was my closest friend growing up as we were only one year apart.

My Grandma loved dogs and always had them, from giant slobbering great white Samoyeds to disciplined, trained German Shepherds.  I think I got my love of dogs (and animals in general) from her.

My Grandma LOVED McDonald's.  I think in part, it is because she always remembered how good it was when they first started and actually served real meat in their burgers.  Anyways, she would take us there on the weekends and she would always order extra pickles, like, a small cup of pickles!

My Grandma often wore polyester pants, sweatshirts with kitties or dogs on them and a turtleneck.  She was always comfortable, but she was also always very primped.  Her silvery-white hair was short on the sides and curled on top - the classic Grandma look!

She wore Jean Nate.  There was always Dial soap in her bathroom.  Today, I cannot used original Dial soap without thinking of her.

She was our "Grandma with the pool".  We loved swimming in her above ground pool, making whirlpools, playing Marco Polo and perfecting our flips and handstands.  I also learned how to do the "Ariel" in her pool. :)

She lied about her age pretty much since the day she was born!  B and I went to an 80 birthday party for her about 11 years ago and that was the first time I ever really knew how old she was.  She was 91 when she passed away.  I do regret that I wasn't able to see her much these last couple of years.  From what my family tells me, she probably wouldn't have remember me anyways due to the Alzheimer's. 

Eleanor Myrle (Woodward) Wright had 8 children, 18 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.  She loved her family, as well as reading and the weekend garage sale.  Thank you for the fond memories and time spent together Grandma.  I hope you knew that I loved you and had a special place in my heart for you.

A good sampling of family in a polaroid, so you know its old school! I'm the one in the pink and white striped dress, bottom left. My brother is to the right in the orange and grey striped shirt with the bowl cut.  My Grandma and Grumpy Grandpa are right above me. 

My Grandma on her 88th birthday with two of her great-grandchildren.