The Christmas Angel

Do you ever catch yourself in the middle of searching for something yet keep finding something else altogether; something that stirs up a memory or a creates a 180° shift in the direction of your thinking?

This summer I was antiquing with my mother in Indiana, I had drawn my sister-in-law's name for Christmas and Mom and I were searching diligently for a special vintage basket at a fancy antique store (I live rather remotely so shopping is challenging). It was determined to find the basket before I returned home to New Mexico. We were totally immersed and on task, but I kept running across things that brought back childhood memories of growing up with my brothers and sister. There was the game of "Kootie" that kept us busy for hours, the favorite firetruck my brother loved the paint right off of; the Magic Eight-Ball we believed could tell the future, the much loved Barbie lunch boxes,  bags of marbles and jacks. Each nostalgic distraction transported me from the task at hand to happy times with my siblings.

Then I spotted it. No, not the basket, but our family's Christmas angel! Could it really be her?  It had been so many years! Memories of Christmas' past  came flooding in. We all loved our Christmas angel. Every year, after a wonderful evening spent decorating the tree, Mother would do the honors, and set the angel lovingly at the very top most branch. We would plug in the lights and the tiny spinner situated behind her "cloud" would begin to turn moved by the heat of the lights. The angles in the silver shell behind her made the light move and sparkle like magic. In a scene right out of a Rockwell painting all seven of us would gather around our beautifully decorated tree adorned by the beautiful angel resting on a cloud with light radiating all around her; the five of us, the boys in footed "jammies" and girls in flannel nightgowns and we would "ohhh and ahhh". It was glorious!!

What a wonderful memory to have, whilst standing in the middle of a store in the middle of Indiana in the middle of July! I didn't buy her, but I snapped her picture to share with my siblings. So today, I share her with you as well; with my most sincere wish that this year, despite all that is going on during these uncertain times, you too will find your moment, a sweet distraction that will transport you to your place of joy and peace and the magic of an angel. This is especially for you, Norman, Bret, Robin and Scott.
Merry Christmas to all!