A Monday Memory....

Source: Positive Outlooks shared The Humor League's photo

This popped up on my Facebook page late this afternoon and immediately triggered a memory.....

My Dad passed away on December 6th, many years ago.  At the time, daughter #1 was just shy of her third birthday and daughter #2 was but seven weeks old.

His passing was a shock to us all, despite the fact that he had been in declining health for a while.

Christmas seemed to come upon us swiftly that year.  Though she didn't really have the heart for it, my mother felt it was very important for "the little ones" to keep up with family traditions.  So we bought a tree and set about bringing up the decorations from the basement to adorn it.

Now, those of us who knew my mother well will recall 

that she was very particular about her Christmas tree decorating.  

She insisted that the lights be evenly spread around the branches 

and that the ornaments hung just so.

So I held my breath when I noticed that our oldest, as each ornament was handed to her, 

placed them side by side, 

on a single branch, 

and on only that branch.

When my mother noticed what she was doing, she stepped back and declared,

"That looks beautiful!"

And she left it just the way her granddaughter had arranged it.  

Thanks, Mom!

As Linus would say, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!"