The first gift of Christmas

As I took down two boxes high in my closet this year, I realized that this special ceramic Christmas village was 30 years old. It is the first Christmas decoration placed out each year. When we were still a family with young children, it was our tradition to put it out on Thanksgiving night. Eric was 18 months old and I was expecting Ryan the year Glen's parents gave each of their children and their families a village for Christmas. They were presented after a large Thanksgiving dinner at a church hall in Draper for the entire Smith/Baker clan. At this time Elma and Jordan still lived in Hawthorne, California. Elma and her friend, Nellie Parker, had glazed and fired the pieces. Jordan had wired display boards with lights and an on/off switch. I was so excited. It was magical, beautiful and it fit perfectly on top of the cedar chest left to me by my Grandma Ostler. We've added a few extra things over the years like the cars, people, and pond BUT they had to look like they had always belonged to these houses, to this place.

I tell the following, not to tattle on Ryan, but to help explain how I feel about this village. We moved to a different house the summer when Ryan was 10 years old. I can't remember why he was upset with me, but when bringing one of the village boxes into the new house, he purposely dropped it on the floor instead of handing it to me. I looked at him and said, "I am not going to look into this box until Christmas. If I were to find broken pieces right now, I'm afraid that I might hurt you." Luckily, come Thanksgiving night later that year, all was well. There was not even a chip or scratch. To Ryan's credit, I'm not sure he knew what the box contained. Did I mention that the church contains a music box which plays "Silent Night?"