Today we decorated the Christmas tree. As the boxes of decorations came up from the basement I had pause to reflect on how these are more than decorations; as we make the transition from young couple to young family and ultimately to grandparents these boxes contain the memories of Christmas' past. Some things: the gingerbread soldier my son made when he was nine, the smurf decorations we had when my daughter was young, get dropped from the repertoire (a few years ago we mercifully retired the macaroni wreath my son made at an early grade from the top of the tree and replaced it with an angel). Other things remain. For years my wife and the kids made decorations for the tree and as gifts for friends; these turtles represent two of those years.
Merry Christmas and may you have good memories to store with your decorations.