old country house blog

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

When I was growing up we moved a lot.

SEA SALT LIVING ROOM WITH RAGGY VINES
SEA SALT LIVING ROOM WITH RAGGY VINES

It was not until I was well into my twenties that I lived in any single residence longer than 3 years.

my MOM gave me this SANTA
my MOM gave me this SANTA

My childhood pledge was that when I had kids…in high school, they would sit next to kindergarten classmates…they would know people long enough to see them change and grow and even get sick of them…they would have the chance to see how things ended up.

HALLWAY STAIRCASE AND VINES
HALLWAY STAIRCASE AND VINES

….and I would never lose the Christmas decorations.

TWIN VINES
TWIN VINES

Seems moving over and over again stripped my Mom of her sentimental attachment to things like photographs and Christmas decorations.

COOPER'S FIRST CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
COOPER’S FIRST CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

Eventually you have to lighten your load I suppose.  I guess if you are constantly saying goodbye to whole human beings..next door best friends…the act of letting go of a few pressed handprints is child’s play.

OUR VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS HERE...2004-PHOEBE WITH HER NEW DOGGIE-DASH
CHRISTMAS 2004 – OUR VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS HERE IN MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE…TINY PHOEBE WITH HER NEW DOGGIE – “DASH”

SO…we got NEW decorations every 3 years…

DINING ROOM MANTLE WITH VINES
DINING ROOM MANTLE WITH VINES

NOW, each year our MIXED BAG OF CHERISHED Christmas decorations get pulled out …THEY grow with us…and while I am, despite my best intentions… sure I have given my kids a few therapy worthy experiences…

LIVING ROOM AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE
LIVING ROOM AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

I have given them this home…this place…to rely on…to take for granted…to be the backdrop of their sweet lives, their childhoods that have flown by…and the worn, chipped, scratched old country house with all of it’s nooks and crannies…… is one of only two houses they will have memories of…

CHRISTMAS MORNING 2013
CHRISTMAS MORNING 2013

and for that I am truly blessed.

CHRISTMAS MORNING 2013
CHRISTMAS TREE 2014

6 thoughts on “CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

  1. I do so love your sweet, sentimental posts, Lesli. You inspire me to savor the time I have in my little 1940 clary sage home with my three girls, who are not far behind yours in age. Mine is the only house in our Portland neighborhood with white lights in the windows, a New England custom that I embrace every year. I hope your surgery went well and your Christmas is magical!

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