The Christmas Memories

I’ve never really been one to go overboard on Christmas decorations.

It’s hard to know where to store the stuff you pack up to get out all the Christmas goods.

But my momma wasn’t like me.

Goodness – she loved to decorate for the holiday. All through the house, everything, every room, received a Christmas makeover.

This Christmas, living in this Wildwood house, all these wooden floors and extra mantles, a grand foyer and a set of stairs, well – I think it’s tapped into a touch of the Christmas decorating gene I can only assume comes from my mother’s Norton side.

What with all the free hemlock branches and magnolia leaves at my disposal – I’ve just been covering surfaces in green and red and berries and pinecones.

It’s been a sweet season so far.

But – oh – how just hanging branches and smelling our tree and unpacking the family nativity set has made me miss my momma.

Christmas was her favorite. And she was one of my favorites.

It’s hard,

so bittersweet,

but lovely too

to be reminded of the her that still runs through my veins and through my heart.