02 December 2019

Happy Birthday to My Mom and Virtual Advent Tour 2019


Happy December!  Today would be my mother's 101st birthday, and though I wish she could be here to celebrate, I also cannot imagine her being that old!  I do miss her every day, but have so many good memories that I feel her with me.

Because her birthday was December 2, we never ever did any major decorating for Christmas until afterwards - though there were always some things that came out on December 1, because to quote my mother, "It's the first day of Christmastime, we're not going to ignore it altogether!"  Actually, I always liked doing it this way - you had the fun of getting started, but didn't have to have everything done right away.

The Tim and I still do that - well, I do it, I'm 99% sure he doesn't necessarily pay strict attention.  Though when he sees it, he always smiles and says, "Well, here we go!"  ;-)

Anyway, I have usually put away the fall and Thanksgiving decorations by the end of November.  And then, every single year like clockwork, December 1 means the displaying of the cardboard Christmas wreath on the inside of the front door:

(That's the peephole on the door in the middle there, in case you were wondering ...)

This wreath is probably one of the first, if not the very first, Christmas decorations we bought when we first got married.  Until last year, you could see the sticker on the back that said, "15 cents," which is a pretty good deal - then and now!  We put it on our *outside* door then, as we lived in a small apartment building where you came in through a main entrance and then walked up to each door.  It was our first apartment, in married student housing at the University of Notre Dame, where The Tim was in graduate school and I worked in the main library.  We had a really nice one-bedroom apartment with a little patio, and we were determined to decorate for Christmas, in spite of not having much money or much room!

And every year since then, this cardboard wreath is pulled out and put onto the front door on the first day of December - now on the inside, so the weather doesn't destroy it.  As you can see if you look closely, there are some spots where the cardboard has gotten a small fold, or started to separate from the color image a bit.  But that only makes it more valuable.  It's a reminder of our first Christmas together, our first apartment, and that you can have a very festive space for just a little bit of money.  Yes, we have quite a few more elegant or nicer things as part of our Christmas decor, but this is the one that started it all, and still does.  :-)

I think remembering your beginnings is important, not just in life, but whenever you are able to find something that still makes you smile after 40+ years.

This post is also part of sprite's Virtual Advent Tour for 2019 - check it out, and join us if you like - it's really lovely and a nice way to enjoy the season.

Have a good week, everyone!

6 comments:

karen said...

we are decked out over here and so far the tree is still standing after Holly loved it up underneath with her adoration. Let's hope she keeps respecting the tree. I have started many to do lists!!

Araignee said...

My birthday is on the 16th and we never did any Christmas decorating until after that and by that I mean the outside lights. My mom wasn't much on indoor decor. She had a twinkle light and a ceramic tree that lit up and that was pretty much it. My parents always put up the tree on Christmas Eve after we had gone to bed. It was just a live little Charlie Brown tree dripping with tinsel but when we woke up and saw it all lit up with piles of presents it was magic.

Anonymous said...

Your memories are similar to mine - we cherish holiday beginnings and consequently remember the first Xmas ornaments we made. Unfortunately my hubby and I have only a few, we kept downsizing - alas now have little room to store them. The memories are there though with the smiles.
Our daughter’s birthday is the 5th of December, so that is traditionally the start of the decorating scheme, but lately due to the fact we are by ourselves + our kids have their own family we start whenever we want, bit by bit plus make fine adjustments in where to decorate. We have memories slowly over the whole month.
Anonymously, Annette

Dee said...

I love your little wreath. (I'll have to show my "special" decoration in a blog post. It's pretty old. LOL)

Your new header is pretty too.

Happy 101st to your mom and I hope you celebrate her with a lovely piece of cake today.

Nance said...

We still have and hang ornaments from our first tree when we were poor and scraped up enough change to buy one box of cheap ones. That was in the days before dollar stores. I love that you have saved your cardboard wreath and cherish it.

Shirley said...

It is so special that you still have, use and cherish that first wreath. Memories are what make objects special. Love your new header.