Merry Christmas to me!

I planted this Christmas Camelia about five years ago and it's bloomed once but just barely.  I had kind of given up on it ever doing anything but be a pretty evergreeen bush but this year it's really blossomed.  And it looks like it'll be in full bloom for Christmas.   
                                                                                           Merry Christmas to me!

Seminary South

I don't think a Christmas has gone by in my adult life that I haven't thought about Seminary South in Ft. Worth.  It was probably one of the first malls in the DFW area and we shopped there a lot when we lived in Joshua and Cleburne. 

In my memory it was a kid's paradise.  My mom could pretty much always be found in Sears so the rest of us were on our own and free to roam the stores and outdoor sidewalks.  Murphy's was the place to browse all the "neat" stuff and dream about how to spend whatever money I might have had at the time.  Most of the stores had escalators to basements and that was definitely a source of entertainment. 

Spencers probably should've been banned from our sphere of discovery and exploration but I'm not sure Mom and Dad even knew what was there.  I can remember walking slowly through being absolutely shocked and mesmerized by the shelves of naughtiness.

We didn't go down to the Striplings end of the mall much.  That was considered upscale and I'm sure my mom thought Sears was more affordable for our big family.

Throughout my childhood I remember my five siblings and I would exchange gifts at Christmas.  I don't know where we got the money or how much any of us had to spend but somehow I was able to buy five gifts and Seminary South was where I remember doing it with what must surely have been meager funds.   

Usually on Christmas Eve before I was a teenager, we'd travel to Dallas to celebrate with Dad's family and exchange gifts.  It might have happened several times but I remember one particular Christmas Eve when we were on our way back home from Dallas we stopped at Seminary South.   I even kind of remember not having a clue why we were stopping but I'm sure my mom had a few last minute things to get.  I mostly remember daylight when shopping at SS but this particular time it was late...and dark.  There was a sense of excitement because of that and because Santa would arrive at our house soon.  As we were walking through the outside area between the stores I saw a man laying on a bench.  I don't know why this stuck in my head but I remember feeling sad because he was there.  I don't think it occurred to me that he might be "homeless".  I don't think I even knew that word then.  But I was sad because he didn't have anything better to do when there was family to be with, warm homes to be in, and Christmas Eve to fully experience. 

 

I'm not sure when Seminary South changed because we didn't go there after we moved to Whitesboro.  But eventually it became a regular indoor mall and now I think it's a Mexican shopping area.  Now that the outdoor mall idea is becoming so popular I sure wish somebody would've had the insight to keep SS the way it was.  I'm sure it would be a hot spot in all it's vintage glory......boy, I'm old!   

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Speaking of..........

In writing my last post my thoughts were turned back thirty years to that first special tree of our marriage.  As I said, when I was a little girl my family would go to my mother's cousin's property north of Whitesboro and hunt for just the right Christmas cedar.  So Bob and I carried on the tradition.  Here's an oh, so young Bob with our find in the back of his 1950 Chevy pickup.    

 

And here is the final product all decked out in it's first-year-of-marriage glory.  You can't see them but it's got these tiny wooden ornaments that I found in a magazine and ordered through the mail.  For those of you younger than 30, that's called mail order.  Kind of amazing to think about now.

I'm not sure how many trees we trekked in the woods for but not long after we had babies the cousins sold the land, allergies got involved, and time just didn't allow the journey.  But we've always had a live tree.  We get them at various places and actually even found a tree farm close by last year so were able to hunt and chop.  They were sold out this year, unfortunately.   

 

And that brings us all the way to 2012 and oh, how times have changed since Bob and I made that journey for our first tree.  Here's Kaylee, Bobby, and Bobby's sweet girlfriend, Jennifer conquering their prey at Home Depot.  Each year I think maybe this is the year I'll get a fake tree.  But then I think about times like last Sunday when we went out as a family in search of the perfect Christmas tree.......and then I think, nope, not this year.  Maybe next............ 

Christmas Magic!

 

If I could add one thing to my house I think it would be a fireplace.  I have these fantasies of curling up in a comfy chair with a good book and the warm and crackling sound to keep me company. 

 

But alas, my house is bereft of that luxury.

 

However, once a year at Christmas, there's a pretty fair substitute when for two or three weeks I can bask in the comfort of my Christmas tree.  No, it doesn't put out any physical warmth and the friendly crackling is sadly missing, but it does have a welcoming glow from the lights and the simple but well loved ornaments.  It also brings with it the warm and comforting memories of Christmases past. 

 

My mom loved Christmas.  Every year we'd make a trip to Whitesboro, where her parents lived, and trek around her cousin's land, looking for just the right Christmas tree.  We all helped with the decorating part but my mom would spend spare minutes afterward, tweaking it till it looked just right.  For her, the placement of the tinsel was most important.  We kids would want to get it on quickly and be done with it but Mom would spend time putting each individual strand on till the tree looked like it belonged to Santa himself. 

 

Providing gifts for six children on a limited, single breadwinner budget surely wasn't easy but as far as I was concerned, our Christmases were rich with fun and laughter and whatever gifts we did have.  My siblings and I were like pretty much any other kids at Christmas and were awake and excited before light of day.  We'd tiptoe quietly into the living room and....there it was!  Magic!  The magic of the softly shining lights and the neat and brightly wrapped mysteries underneath the tree.  It was as if the tree was saying, "Come on, I can't wait for you to see what's here for you!"

 

What a great representation of what Christmas is all about when on that first long ago birthday of our Savior, God was saying, "Come, see and take part in what I have in store for you". 

 

Now that I've raised my children and we've put up many trees over the years, I still relish the childlike excitement that Christmas and each lovely tree brings.  Our tree has ornaments on it that were also on that very first tree that Bob and I brought home 30 years ago.  It also has newer ornaments, those that my children have made and those that I've bought them that represent their personalities.  And, of course, each tree has individually placed tinsel that creates the sparkling magic.  Magic that I have tried to recreate from memory for my children. 

 

Now that they're basically out of the house and Bob and I are slowing down just a bit it's hard to find that same enthusiasm to get the decorations out and put up.  But when it's done and everything's in place and I'm relaxed in front of the tree, my childlike wonder and excitement always comes back.

 

So for the next couple of weeks I can curl up in a comfy chair and enjoy the welcoming warmth of my glowing Christmas tree.  Magic!