It is funny what triggers a memory.
I recently cleared out my childhood home and put it on the market to be sold. Not a fun task to be sure. So many forgotten memories dredged up and put into storage, my loft or into a dumpster.
Life changes quickly.
When I was growing up we would play old Christmas records on an old turntable. Some songs you could anticipate where the scratches were on the album since we heard them so many times. I remember I HATED the song “Toyland” by Perry Como. The lyrics…”Childhood, Toyland, Mystical Merry Toyland, Once you pass its borders, you can never return again”
It always made me cry. No going back? To childhood? Yuk. It felt too final.
But one of the things that brought me right back to my childhood that I saved from my mom and dads’ house was this 20″ block of scarred wood. It has 3 layers of hardwood that were tightened together with screws. When the house was empty and the garage nearly so, I saw this block of wood off in the corner. And It brought back sounds…
Pop! Clink, clink. Pop! Clink, clink.
We had a wood burning stove in my kitchen growing up. My mom was a fire bug (me too) and she would get up early and my sisters and I would huddle around a fire in the mornings eating cinnamon toast before school. And in the morning or at mealtimes throughout the day I would hear from the garage next door that sound…. it is so clear in my head even now… My dad grabbing a piece of wood and putting it on this “chopping block” he made to protect the garage cement floor and chopping the wood into smaller pieces. Pop! Clink, clink… as the split pieces hit the floor. I feel now it is one of the most valuable things I kept from my childhood home. I didn’t realize it at the time, or even as an adult, but this simple act of cutting wood was an act of love. Going out into the cold garage to chop up some pieces of wood to keep the family warm. To let us feel toasty and safe. I am going to find a way to hang it on a wall (a true piece of art) and when I look at it I will hear those sounds, and I hope it will be a reminder to find little ways to care for those around me.
I am without parents now. It feels weird to write that. I lost my best friend, my mom, to cancer almost 14 years ago and my dad carried on alone until last month when he finally got to see her again. This Christmas will feel different. But life is still very, very good. My children and I will be celebrating the birth of my grandchild with a long vacation in the Caribbean and life goes on. I have a quote on my night stand that says, “You never realize that the little things ARE the big things until they are gone”
So cherish the little things this holiday season. Sounds. Smells. Laughter. Memories. Because in the end that is all we can really keep. You can never return again.
In my typical fashion I will be taking off from writing this blog until February. A time to rest. A time to paint and to enjoy my friends and family. I wish you the very best memories ever over these holidays and a very Happy New Year. I am extremely grateful to you and I hope to see you in 2025.
Enjoy your rest. You deserve it. (We all deserve a rest) I look forward to seeing your blog when you return. I always enjoy it. This one was thought provoking to say the least. Enjoy the holidays. Enjoy your grandchild. Enjoy life.
Thank you! Best wishes to you Donna! ❤️
❤️ may the blessings of new adventures rain on you all. Merry Christmas and happy New Year
And to you!!
It really is True ; that the only thing in this life on earth that are Important are the memories; but art and what your mind and emotions reveal are what creates those fantasies
😊
Awww…. Beautiful memory. Thank you for sharing. Your writing is so eloquent.
☺️
It’s funny how some totally oddball thing can have a profound meaning because of the memories we associate with it.
Mine is a silver spray paint that my dad used to decorate a wooden racing boat toy that he carved for my brother in 1968.
On the very rare occasion that I see that same semi-matte silver color out in the world (only twice since then — on the handrails at a public pool’s entrance steps and on the light poles in a parking lot), I am instantly filled with a happy nostalgia.
My dad died in 1981 when I was 19. Of course I have memories of him, but only in snippets and they are faint after all these years.
I have never even tried to purposely find or recreate that particular silver because the extreme rarity is what makes it so pleasantly evocative when I come across it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIEND !!!! from Noralee & I
I’m so glad to have met you years ago and to consider you one of my (as they say ) BESTIES !
Aww! Love you guys too! Happy New Year!
Chris- cut the date, small, in the back of it when you hang it. Future generations would appreciate that. Blessings!
Good idea!
Have a wonderful time with your family and the new little one.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us. I have several things that transport me that way to another time and place of my special memories.
Can’t
Wait to see what you create in the new year.
Awe, what a beautiful post. Life is a complex little adventure, and we are collectors of the moments along the way. You can never return, but maybe you don’t have to, as it’s all there, part of the collection. Thanks for sharing your precious moments. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, resting and collecting more beautiful moments.
Beautiful, Christine. Thanks for sharing this bit of your experience. Much love to you and the family. –Mark