I remember one Christmas when I was in my twenties and I was having trouble budgeting my Christmas spending and my father quipped, "Well, you could just do what your mother did. She took the present from my parents, and the present from her parents, and exchanged the package labels. Then she just sent the packages back off to each family." He didn't dole out the compliments, or awe out to many people in his life but that story, coupled with his appreciative chuckle, sort of said it all.
I still have their original Christmas ornaments from their early days as a couple in New York. And it never fails when I hang those old tarnished, yet still beautiful German glass Shiny Brite ornaments that I think of her, in their fifth floor walk up, and I can't help but admire her ingenuity.
I love the layers of memories you've woven into this piece. I can tell so much about your mother--and the way she was loved by you and your father--from your words.
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