I have a box of ornaments that I’ve collected since childhood, which are great for my usual Christmas tree non-theme theme of a “family tree” – you know, the kind of tree with everyone’s ornaments, handmade and not, making a nice hodge-podge of things that have memories associated with them. Last year when I went to find my box, it was gone. I looked in the attic, the basement, and the two closets where it could be, to no avail. This year, I did the same, and still couldn’t find it. I assumed that one of us must have accidentally thrown it away during a decluttering session. This made me sad, but I resigned myself to the fact that we’ll just have to start building our collection again, including a good nativity set.
Last night I was clearing a spot for the new granite roaster that I got for Christmas (yay!) and decided to move our fondue pot to the top shelf of the pantry. I noticed that a part to the fondue pot was missing, and thought “Hmm. Maybe it’s in the fondue pot box, which has been sitting up there on the top pantry shelf for a long time.” I picked up the box, and noticed that it felt mysteriously heavy. Suddenly, I felt a glimmer of hope. Was it possible…..?
It was! A Christmas miracle was taking place in my kitchen as I opened the box and found my missing stash – including the ornament from my first Christmas as a baby, the clothespin reindeer I made in elementary school, and the uber-cool nativity from the Dominican that Erica gave to me.
I know that in the grand scheme of the world, these are only things, and losing them wasn’t really a crisis. But recovering them did feel miraculous, as did a truly peaceful and fun holiday with my husband, my child and my parents.
So, here’s wishing each of you your own little holiday miracle.
joyful girl 