The day after Thanksgiving may be Black Friday to some, but to me, it’s Operation Christmas. Sam and I started this tradition many years ago, and I love it.
When our boys were small, our tree was filled with baby & children’s ornaments such as Baby’s First Christmas or a teddy bear or other cute animals holding age numbers. Almost all of the ornaments were given to the boys from both sets of our parents.
After my dad and Marty’s parents passed, it became hard and harder to get those ornaments out each year. The boys weren’t helping to hang up “their” ornaments anymore since they were grown up; I was decorating the tree alone.
My mother had her stroke eight years ago around Thanksgiving. I couldn’t bring myself to pull out all of those sentimental decorations due to emotional and physical exhaustion. I decided that I would keep those ornaments for the boys when they had homes and families of their own, and I would buy grown-up decorations.
Sam, Marty, and I went shopping and picked out our new purple, silver, and white ornaments. Our tree looked so glamorous, like the kind you see in magazines. Poor Noah was upset because he wasn’t around when all of this happened and was heartbroken about the new decorations. I explained to him why I needed to change things; he got it and was on board.
I still put up my mini Mema Christmas tree every year. Mema was my grandmother on my dad’s side for those who don’t know who she is. When I was small, I remember looking at Mema’s vintage ornaments from when my father was a little boy in the 1940s. I loved a Santa coming down the ceramic chimneypiece with old-fashioned glass bulbs sticking out of it.
When I was in my twenties, she had a box packed up for me when I visited Mema. It was all the decorations and ornaments that I loved. She said she didn’t decorate like she used to and wanted me to have them. It is still one of the most treasured gifts I’ve ever received.
I have one other Christmas decoration that is special to me as well. I received it when I was four years old. Nana and Grandpop, my grandparents on my mother’s, side bought it for me. It was Santa’s sleigh with reindeer, elves, and a big sack of toys in the back. The sled was studded with different color Christmas lights. I looked forward every year to plugging it in and seeing the sleigh light up.
I loved standing in front of my Santa’s sleigh and playing make-believe. I’ve always used different character voices when I played; I still do with our animals. I would use my Santa voice and call out to the reindeer and elves. When I got married and moved to Vermont, I took my Santa sleigh with me for my own home.
I’m not sure what year it was when the sleigh didn’t light up anymore; it gave me a shock and blew a fuse. After a series of curse words flying through the air, I ran to the fuse box and tripped the power. That was the end of the “light-up” sled, but I still put it on display every year. The funny thing is my boys never paid any attention to it like I did when I was small, but they didn’t have the same connection to it as I did.
After production, Marty and I went across the street to the Arlington Community House, which had their fundraising Christmas trees and wreaths sale. The proceeds help the town fund the community house, which is important to us, and not having to travel anywhere to get the tree is priceless.
Marty cut the bottom of the tree, drilled a hole in it, placed it in the tree stand, and let me have at it. He headed out with Sam to work on a project, so I had the house to myself. I put on Christmas music and slowly started putting up our decorations. It began to snow while I was decorating, which was even more festive.
While organizing everything on the dining room table, I came across a Christmas ornament mailed to us last Christmas. Our tree was down, so I never used it; I put it in one of the Christmas boxes. The ornament was from the care facility where my mother lived, a glass ornament with her photo in it.
You never know when grief is going to sneak up on you or punch you in the face. In yesterday’s case, it hit me right between the eyes. I started to weep, taken by surprise with all kinds of emotions. I let myself cry and let all the feelings go one by one. I was sad, mad, angry, and heartbroken. Marty stopped in for a moment, hugging me, telling me it was ok to cry.
I became over-sentimental and didn’t have the same happiness I started with. In the end, I finished decorating the tree and the house, happy with how everything looked. It was dark out already, and the guys were out on a rescue squad call, so I quickly jumped in the shower.
As soon as I got out of the shower, the power went out from all the heavy snow snapping tree branches and power lines. I let out a big, “What the fuck! You gotta be kidding me,” while standing in the bathroom dripping wet in the dark. I felt around for my towel and went downstairs to light some candles.
The house quickly got chilly since I didn’t have the heat up high while decorating the tree. My thick hair down to my waist takes forever to dry; it was soaking wet, making me uncomfortable and cold. The pleasant and nostalgic feeling that I had when I finished Operation Christmas went right out the window.
When the guys finally got home, we manually lit the gas stove, heating leftovers. I sat with a hat, fleece pants, and a hoodie under a mountain of blankets. The power didn’t come back on until almost midnight, and the road crews still hadn’t been out. We had over eight inches of heavy snow. The guys went outside to start digging out, but the driveway was covered with snow as soon as they made a pass with the snowplow or shovel.
After the power came on, we sat together, catching up with each other’s day. They liked how the tree and decorations came out this year. It was still dumping heavy snow outside, and everything was tranquil. Last night, we decided that we wouldn’t be attending our farmer’s market today, not knowing how much snow we would still be getting and how the roads would be at 5 am.
Today is a gift of a “free” day to use as I wish; we never have a Saturday off, so it is like a luxury to me. Have a great weekend, guys! 🎄❄️⛄️🕯
I remember your antique metal figurines of the kids on their sleds and the kids ice skating. I love those old fashion ornaments.
so when the forecast is for heavy wet snow we should push the heat in anticipation of the electric possibly going down. I am shocked that we had
no accumulations in se Vermont, how can that be?