Yesterday we packed up Christmas. Everything was taken down, packed into totes and put away. We even sorted out some of the unwanted decorations. They are sitting on the curb waiting for the trash man. Although I no longer wanted those things there is a sadness to it. At one time they were hung as part of the celebration. Now they have been relegated to the trash. But why should I feel this way ? I guess it is just sentiment. The truth is those items turned from sentiment to sediment. And nobody wants sediment. As an engineer I put filters in place to strain out the sediment. Sediment clogs things up. Still it is always a difficult decision to throw out any part of Christmas past.
On the bright side we did rediscover some items from years past as well. A small cache of hand made ornaments from when the kids were small. They are not much, just scraps of paper and tin foil. An angel, a snowman and a Christmas tree. Each one done with crayons and pencil. A small piece of ribbon attached to hang them on the tree. They are the most valuable ornaments of all. There is more sentiment in those things than anything I have purchased. They will retain their sentiment for as long as I and the wife are around. They went into hiding for a while, the sentiment survived.
And just what does sentiment survive upon ? It survives upon memory and love. There are times when memory requires a reminder. Those old ornaments serve as those reminders. Even though I can't remember exactly when they were made, I know who made them. The wife and I can tell the writings and drawings of the grandchildren, just as we could with our own children. All that is required is a glance and we know. Isn't that an amazing thing ? A small piece of those children survive on those papers. They were given to us with the sentiment already built in. And it is that, that separates those things from purchased decorations. They can never become sediment to us. Those scraps of Christmas past hold the innocence of a child. Nothing could be purer.
The years have gone by and they are not children anymore. They are young adults. Hard to accept that reality at times. Where have the years gone ? Christmas is a special time and remains that way. There is so much sentiment associated with the celebration. Gone is the early morning excitement, the running feet of little children, the excited screams of delight. Now it is hurry up and wait. Those young adults will appear when they are ready. Yes there was smiles and expressions of gratitude. There is still love and laughter. I pray that it will always be so. The wife and I have our reminders and it is enough. This year we each received a hand written card from those young adults. Those cards will be cherished. You know they outgrew that for a short time, as kids will. It is a wonderful thing to know they haven't forgotten the lesson. They were a bit embarrassed by it, I could tell, but that is normal. After all, they are growing up. They are learning about such things as sentiment and love. The years pass by but sentiment remains. Sediment is the stuff that clogs stuff up and gets discarded. When the sentiment is greater than the sediment you will have grown to understand. I've discovered it is a slow process and is accompanied by sorrow on occasion. When I got my card this Christmas I was so happy I could have cried. That is sentiment.
On the bright side we did rediscover some items from years past as well. A small cache of hand made ornaments from when the kids were small. They are not much, just scraps of paper and tin foil. An angel, a snowman and a Christmas tree. Each one done with crayons and pencil. A small piece of ribbon attached to hang them on the tree. They are the most valuable ornaments of all. There is more sentiment in those things than anything I have purchased. They will retain their sentiment for as long as I and the wife are around. They went into hiding for a while, the sentiment survived.
And just what does sentiment survive upon ? It survives upon memory and love. There are times when memory requires a reminder. Those old ornaments serve as those reminders. Even though I can't remember exactly when they were made, I know who made them. The wife and I can tell the writings and drawings of the grandchildren, just as we could with our own children. All that is required is a glance and we know. Isn't that an amazing thing ? A small piece of those children survive on those papers. They were given to us with the sentiment already built in. And it is that, that separates those things from purchased decorations. They can never become sediment to us. Those scraps of Christmas past hold the innocence of a child. Nothing could be purer.
The years have gone by and they are not children anymore. They are young adults. Hard to accept that reality at times. Where have the years gone ? Christmas is a special time and remains that way. There is so much sentiment associated with the celebration. Gone is the early morning excitement, the running feet of little children, the excited screams of delight. Now it is hurry up and wait. Those young adults will appear when they are ready. Yes there was smiles and expressions of gratitude. There is still love and laughter. I pray that it will always be so. The wife and I have our reminders and it is enough. This year we each received a hand written card from those young adults. Those cards will be cherished. You know they outgrew that for a short time, as kids will. It is a wonderful thing to know they haven't forgotten the lesson. They were a bit embarrassed by it, I could tell, but that is normal. After all, they are growing up. They are learning about such things as sentiment and love. The years pass by but sentiment remains. Sediment is the stuff that clogs stuff up and gets discarded. When the sentiment is greater than the sediment you will have grown to understand. I've discovered it is a slow process and is accompanied by sorrow on occasion. When I got my card this Christmas I was so happy I could have cried. That is sentiment.
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