The Torch
The post-Thanksgiving Christmas party had a nice side effect. I have located the Christmas dishware, including glasses, mugs, plates and salt and pepper shakers. I’m using a Santa mug for my morning tea, and Santa and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers now adorn the kitchen island. I also pulled out the Christmas linens, which included a set of knitted end table pieces. The kitchen dish towel even has a Christmas motif. We’re set.
Previously a lot of this sort of decorating and swapping out would have been done by my late wife, as I worked. I’d leave for Houston. She’d putter and decorate. Over a period of weeks, the house would transform. My role mainly consisted in putting up the outside lights and lugging heavy stuff down from the attic. Now, it’s all me. That’s okay, but a lot of the family memories went with her, and previously, with no real reason to bring it down, the goods started to disappear, at least in my mind. Now they’re back and I’ll keep them closer to hand.
Of course, with it being just me I’ll probably have to exert a bit of effort, but it seems a nice thing to do to honor the woman who did it year in and year out for our family. So, I shall exert the effort. Besides, I like looking at them and it does bring back pleasant memories every time I handle them and look at them. Plus, this year new people saw the decorations and there will be others next year, and that’s how things will go on, and the torch will be passed.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale