Jeanineredman's Blog

The Story of My Tree

December 16, 2009 at 6:36 pm (Uncategorized)

I listened to a story today. It’s one that I heard earlier in the month as I put up my family’s Christmas tree. The tree speaks to me every year, but for some reason as I sat quietly in the early hours of today, I listened a bit closer  and saw a bit deeper. I love my tree. In fact, it’s my absolute favorite part of the Christmas season. It’s decorated with ornaments instead of matching balls and at least for most of the ornaments, they trigger a memory and tell a story about where I was and who I was with when I got them. It has ornaments that were once my husband’s grandmother’s, ornaments that once belonged to our mothers, ornaments made by my mother, ones made by our daughter Jennifer when she was in grade school, ones that mark my first year of marriage, and Jen’s first Christmas.  There are ornaments that I received from friends while I was pregnant and others received from employers that all bring back beautiful memories of our time living in Atlanta.  I began collecting Disney ornaments for Jennifer while I was pregnant with her, and while in the past I have had a special tree for those that she now has at her home, I kept a few of my favorites for our family tree.  There’s Belle and the Beast, because they represent my all time favorite movie…How can you not love a girl who is strong and intelligent and smart enough to see beyond the rough and gruff exterior into the heart of a real man and ends up loving both parts of him?  There’s Pooh, Piglet and Tigger, because of the hours and hours we watched with Jen while they played in the woods.  And Doc is on my tree too, because of all the Dwarfs, he’s the leader and I love him.  There are several representations of the nativity and they share the true story of Christmas.  I also have several crosses on the tree which remind me that although He came as a child, He left as a man having loved us unconditionally and completely…This Christ child…This Christ man…This Savior…my Savior.

I realized something else about my tree today.  It’s a really good representation of me…the woman I have become and the little girl that is still so much a part of me.  It has aspects of elegance and beauty, but with more parts of humor and whimsy and playfulness. Parts of it are traditional with strong roots in heritage, while parts of it hold something new every year with the expectation of what new memory will be made to fill a space for next year.  There is strength and height that is shared with parts marked fragile and tender.  And while all of this sounds like a convoluted mess that in no way goes together, it fits perfectly and the end result is priceless.

My tree tells the story of my life with my family…some memories or chapters better than others…some easier to remember than others…some broken pieces that were repaired but have a visible scar…so much love…so much laughter…some pain thrown in for good measure…so much life…It’s a beautiful tree and a beautiful story.  I’m glad I listened again this year.

I hope you take the time to listen to your story this year….maybe yours won’t be told through a tree, but it’s there in your memories…if you listen, you’ll hear it.  Maybe yours is being drastically rewritten…that’s ok too.  Every tree needs to be pruned, and while painful, ultimately it’s for future benefit.  I hope you join me in appreciating your past, living and fully experiencing  your present, and looking forward with expectation to your future.

Merry Christmas!

Jeanine