Not an overabundance of earthly wealth and goods in either of our families.
However, when our parents passed, there were certain items that I thought I would die if I didn't get.
The Christmas compact was one of them--a gift from my father-in-law to my mother-in-law long before I knew them--circa early 1940's I think. Notice the tiny jingle bells on it. And one is missing. I can help but think of Chris VanAlsberg's The Polar Express when I look at it. And of course I think of "the first gift of Christmas."
The small heavy glass globe to the right was a gift to my parents from my aunt Jessie in the early 1940's and I don't remember one day of my life when it was not present.
As the years went by after our parents passed, I learned that these small things do not bind their memories to us--they just make us take pause to remember them a little more often. Thank God for these small heirlooms.
