German heirloom ornament
by Shirley
A friend of our family, Dave, had an elderly mother who was of German descent. His mother was very friendly with me and my son, who was about nine at the time. Dave didn't have a lot of money ever, and that year at Christmas he wanted to get something nice for his mother since she had helped him out a great deal. I gave him some money so he could get her something nice and forgot about it. When he visited us that Christmas - he always came for Christmas dinner - he had a wrapped box in his hand. I was surprised as normally he didn't bring gifts since he couldn't afford them. It wasn't from him, he explained, but rather his mother. When his mother opened her present from Dave, she later wondered how he could afford something so nice. He told her I had given him the money. His mother wanted to reciprocate, so she selected an ornament from her tree. All of her ornaments were old, family heirlooms - hand-painted and made in Germany. She selected a shiny white ornament with a small painting of a snow castle on the front. Then she set it, nestled in tissue paper, in a box, and wrapped it. The ornament, though fragile, was sturdy and beautiful. I hung it in front of our tree, the place of honor. The next year Dave's mother passed away quite unexpectedly. Dave was devastated, especially as his sister grabbed everything their mother owned. Later that year when he arrived at our place for Christmas he looked at our tree. There, once again, in the place of honor, was the handmade ornament his mother had gifted me. His eyes lit up, and I asked Dave if he would like to have it. No - he wanted us to keep it, so that when he came for Christmas dinner each year he would know where it was, and be able to enjoy it. Two years ago we lost Dave due to complications from diabetes. As I hung the ornament that Christmas, not only did I do so in memory of his mother, but also in his memory. |
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