Christmas time is almost upon us and my mind turns to not only stuffing turkey, but more importantly, stuffing stockings. Stockings! Now where did I put those Christmas stockings? Hmmm……
Thirty-three years ago I was blessed with a tiny bundle of joy that to this day makes me swell with pride. I wanted his very first Christmas to set off a series of special memories in our lives, so I spent months and months handcrafting a personal Christmas stocking for my little boy. I could just envision myself filling it each year with his favorite candies and new toys that would light up his face on Christmas morning. A short three years later, along came the twins. Well, of course, I could not allow these two, precious girls have anything less that one-of-a-kind, handcrafted Christmas stockings stitched and sequined in unwavering love.
What was I thinking?
You see time passed way too soon, and these “little” ones grew up and married before I knew what was happening. Not wanting their spouses to feel less than equal in our Christmas tradition of stuffing stockings, I felt compelled to sew another three stockings each tailored to the individual interests of my new family members. Hardly before I could put away my shears, needles, and embroidery thread, along came my first precious grandson…….a granddaughter….another grandson….another granddaughter…..and yet another granddaughter. My fingers are now calloused from all the cutting and pricked from trying to cram a needle that is too big into a bead that is too small. My aging eyesight has diminished due to the intricate details involved from my once perfect 20/20 vision into the dreaded bifocal range.
And it didn’t stop there.
Upon remarrying, I gained a step-daughter and a delightful son-in-law both in need of Christmas stockings. This union within the past two years has now blessed me with my fourth granddaughter and my third grandson. If you haven’t been counting, what started out as a whim on my part, of sewing a single, sequined, glittered, beaded, hand-stitched, Christmas stocking has now turned into FIFTEEN stockings with one being needed every year for the past twelve years.
What WAS I thinking? I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what I am thinking now. I am thinking my mother had great foresight when she just had us sit an empty shoe box beneath the boughs of our Christmas tree.
Have a wonderful Christmas and spend lots of time with your beloved family.