A Table Full of Memories

To anyone else this just looks like a table full of Christmas ornaments.  

To me it is a walk down memory lane.

I feel nostalgic thinking of the ornament my Grandma Boyle made

Of trips to Hawaii - Mele Kalikimaka       

I remember good friends who have given us ornaments over the years

And the seminary students and Young Women who have made me ornaments

I marvel that the gingerbread ornaments we bought in 1999 are not in crumbles

I picture the tiny little lady in China from whom I bought a whole box of small ornaments

I see all the shops in the Baltics when I look at my 'amber' ornaments

I smile thinking of our beloved pets and the ornaments that honor them

And of 39 foster dogs from Guide Dogs For the Blind whose names are on two ornaments

I'm impressed with the ornaments our family has made on recent Christmas Eves.

I picture the blue tiles and handmade paper of Uzbekistan

And the white lace of Brugge, Belgium

My heart strings are tugged as I look at the ornaments that were once my mother's

And remember the generosity of her friend, Mrs. Lyons who gave us so many ornaments.

I am impressed with skills of handicapped people in Kenya who make angels out of recycled aluminum

The ornaments from Oman and Dubai make me think of that trip just as the pandemic started.

Norway, Crater Lake, Oregon Coast, Monticello, Washington DC, Annapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, The White House, Madagascar, Williamsburg, Palmyra, Nauvoo, Reagan Library, Zanzibar 

Ah, the joy of memories!

"Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it"

L. M. Montgomery