Yesterday was December 7th, and we remember those lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. We are forever humbled by their sacrifice.
Christmas Memories (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Are you excited about your first Christmas tree, Angie?" Catherine asked as she carried her into the living room after lunch.
Angie flapped a hand against Catherine's back. "Bah ehhh."
"Of course she is," Steve said, smiling up at them. He was already kneeling on the floor, laying out the different branch sections of their artificial tree as Cammie sniffed each one.
"Okay, you and Cammie can watch from back here." Catherine secured Angie in her bouncy seat several feet from where they'd be working so she could still see and hear them. "This part might not be quite as fun as the lights and ornaments, but just wait till you see it all put together." She kissed Angie's head and gave her tummy a gentle pat before standing to join Steve. "Are you gonna sit with Angie, pretty girl?" she asked Cammie who had finished investigating the tree parts and now empty box.
In answer, Cammie went over to Angie's bouncy seat and sat down beside it.
Catherine smiled. "Good girl."
She and Steve made quick work of the tree assembly, spending the most time shaping the branches.
"What do you think, Angie?" Steve asked from up on the step stool, bending one of the branches at the top. "Almost can't tell it's not real, can you?"
"Ahhh ahh."
"Okay, now that the tree is up you can come a little closer," Catherine said, carefully moving the bouncy seat up a few feet. She chuckled as Cammie, who had laid her head on her front paws, got up and moved with them. Tickling Angie's feet, she said, "You're gonna love this next part."
Steve, now down from the stool, picked up the power cord holder they used to store the tree lights. "Now you may at some point hear your uncle Danno complaining about tangled lights, but that is just because he is impatient and doesn't plan ahead. The key is proper storage."
Catherine laughed as she stood back up. "It's true. He's usually in too much of a hurry to get the tree down after Christmas. Luckily, Grace has stepped in with a little organization."
Steve grinned. "Takes after her aunt." He started unwinding a few feet of the first light strand. "We used to use old rolled up magazines which worked well, but then your mommy thought of this and I like it even better."
After three years, they knew generally how to arrange the light strands, so after a quick test, they decided to put them on unlit so they could see Angie's face when they turned the whole tree on for the first time.
They weren't disappointed.
Steve held Angie while Catherine flipped the switch that controlled the power. Angie's eyes widened as she took in the twinkling white lights all over the tree. Her mouth opened in silent wonder.
Steve and Catherine smiled broadly, watching her reaction.
"What do you think, baby girl?" Catherine asked, moving beside them. "Beautiful, huh?"
"Bah ehhh!"
Steve stepped closer and she reached out toward the tree. She pulled her hand back as her fingers brushed the artificial branch, the new sensation surprising her.
She looked up at Steve and smiled to see him grinning at her.
"Go ahead, Angie," he encouraged.
She reached out again, her small fingers finding a branch and then pulling back again, but this time with laughter.
"And next is the best part," Catherine said, beside them. "The ornaments."
Steve smiled at her. He glanced back at Angie. "But first, you, sweetheart," he kissed her head, "need a new diaper."
"Ahh ahhh."
"That's right, you." He winked at Catherine. "We'll be right back."
Catherine chuckled as he headed for the stairs with Angie.
A few minutes later, they reappeared on the top landing. "All clean," Steve said as he started making his way back down. He caught sight of Catherine up on the step stool next to the tree. "Hey, you're not hanging ornaments without us, are you?" he teased.
"Of course not," she said, smiling over at them. "Just wanted to adjust this light strand."
He grinned and stage-whispered to Angie, "Your mommy's a little bit of a perfectionist, isn't she, Angie?"
"I just want the tree to be perfect for Angie's first Christmas," she countered.
He cleared his throat as if she'd just proved his point.
She smiled, stepping down. "Remember last year when Cammie didn't want me up on the stool?"
"Yep, and I wanted it on the record that that was Cammie, not me."
"Ahhiiy," Angie said.
Catherine met them halfway across the living room, giving Angie a little tickle. "Cammie was worried about us, honey." She looked down at Cammie and smiled. "Weren't you, pretty girl?" She bent over and gave the happy dog a kiss on the head. "Yes, you were. But everything's fine this year."
Steve smiled. "Ready for ornaments?"
"Ready." She lifted Angie from his arms. "Come here, baby girl. We have a little tradition about the first ornament we hang on the tree, and I like your daddy to do the honors." She nodded at Steve to go ahead.
He looked through the large box of ornaments they'd placed on the coffee table until he found a smaller box. Inside was a gold ball with a red and green stripe around the middle. He held it up for Angie to see. "I picked this out for my dad when I was five years old," he told her. "Your grandpa." He smiled softly. "I can still remember his face when I pointed it out in the store." He spun the ball carefully around to reveal the broken part. "When she was little, your aunt Mary accidentally dropped it and it broke, but my dad kept it. He put it on the tree every year, and he kept it even though we hadn't seen each other for a long time."
Catherine smiled at how intently Angie was staring at Steve as he spoke. She kissed the baby's head and said quietly, "You see, honey, something doesn't have to be perfect to be special." She locked eyes with Steve. "Even things that are broken are important."
He nodded slowly. "That's right."
"And that's the one we hang first." She shifted so Angie could watch as Steve hung the ball on the tree, turning it so the "Dad" was facing out.
He stepped back, a small smile on his face as he looked at it.
"It's important to take a little time to remember why we have each ornament," Catherine said to Angie. "It's not about getting everything hung fast. It's about the memories each one brings."
"Like this one," Steve said, holding up another ornament. He smiled at Catherine. "Your mommy has had this for a long time because it's a special memory. Her aunt Louise gave it to her after they went to see A Christmas Carol together, just the two of them."
Catherine smiled, not surprised he remembered all the details.
He handed her the hook and she went to hang it on the tree. "These are carolers," she told Angie.
"Bahh ehhhh," Angie babbled.
"Those are people who sing Christmas songs around the holidays. When we went to the play, there were lots of carolers dressed up just like this because the story took place a long time ago." She smiled as she looked at the ornament. "I wish you could have met her, honey. She would have loved you."
Steve stepped closer, rubbing a hand across Catherine's back. He pressed a kiss to her hair. "Yes, she would've." He smiled. "She was one-of-a-kind."
Catherine smiled up at him. "She was." She leaned up for a brief kiss and passed Angie to him. "Now, let's see what else we've got."
Cammie retreated to her bolster bed as they continued hanging ornaments, making sure to tell Angie the significance of each one. There was Catherine's childhood drawing of an angel with purple wings on a shrinky dink. Steve's Santa Claus figurine wearing a red football helmet and jersey. Catherine's one-and-only cross stitch ornament.
Steve laughed as he took another ornament from the box. "Now I'm pretty sure this one is your mommy's favorite ornament."
Catherine joined his laughter as he held up the wooden Donald Duck, pulling the strings so his arms and legs moved.
"Ahhh ahhhh!" Angie laughed along with her parents, reaching for the bright red of Donald's santa suit.
"That is definitely one of my favorites, and I think it might be one of yours, too, huh, baby girl?" Catherine said, blowing a raspberry against Angie's cheek and eliciting a squeal of laughter.
Grinning, Steve hung Donald on the tree.
Catherine smiled as she took another ornament out of the box. "When you're a little older, you won't have to guess who made this one."
Steve chuckled as he took it from her. "There's only one minion fanatic in our family. Jacob made a bunch of these last year and gave us one for our tree."
Angie reached for the bright yellow ball, a bottle top glued on the front for an eye and a black strap around the middle.
Catherine smiled as Steve took a second to fluff up the yarn strands that served as hair at the top before he hung it on the tree.
"We have a few special handmade ones," Catherine said. "Your cousin Joan made this candy cane out of beads and this popsicle stick tree." She handed them to Steve after showing Angie.
"And Kaitlyn made this wreath out of puzzle pieces," Steve said, taking it out carefully. The backs of the puzzle pieces were painted green and arranged in a circle, a red bow and a few red pom poms added for berries.
He hung it with the other handmade ornaments.
"Ohh, Steve, do that one next," Catherine said, pointing to a small box.
"Ah, another favorite," he said, picking it up and carefully removing the red and silver glass ball.
"This one has a little magic in it, Angie," Catherine said. "A little Nonna magic."
"Ahhh," Angie said, her eyes following the delicate ball.
"No matter what it's been through, it's stayed unbreakable," Steve said, his eyes catching Catherine's. "And we were very honored Nonna wanted us to have it."
A movement of Cammie's in his periphery distracted Steve for the split second it took Angie to reach out, brushing an uncoordinated hand against the ornament.
Catherine gasped as it fell from Steve's fingers, narrowly missing the edge of the coffee table before landing on the edge of the rug beneath.
Steve swiftly knelt, picking it up and checking every inch. Shaking his head in amazement, he held it up for Catherine to see. "Still unbreakable."
She exhaled slowly, holding his gaze as he stood. Reaching up to touch his cheek, she kissed him. "Still unbreakable."
As he hung the ball on the tree he said, "We'll have to tell Nonna about that."
"Definitely." She smiled. "I can already hear her. 'You see, I told you it was waiting for you. Now the bambina is part of its story, too.' "
Steve grinned and reached for Angie, lifting her up above his head, causing her to squeal happily. "Yes, you are," he said, bringing her down slowly and kissing her cheek.
"Ahh ahhh!"
He laughed. "And you are quick, aren't you? I'll remember that."
Catherine smiled. "How about some newer ones next?" she said, holding up another ornament.
Steve nodded. "We get a couple new ornaments every year," he told Angie.
"Believe it or not, that was your daddy's idea," Catherine said, grinning.
"We make new memories every year, so we should get new ornaments, too," he said simply.
She smiled softly, touched. "Absolutely." She held out the ornament in Cammie's direction. "Look, pretty girl, it's your ornament."
Cammie raised her head from her bolster bed and gave a happy chuff.
Steve held Angie securely as he reached in the box for another ornament. "This is the blueprint for the deck out back."
Catherine returned to the box after hanging Cammie's ornament. "And this one will always remind me of Grandma Ang."
"Ahhhh," Angie said.
"Go on," Steve said, nodding to the bingo card ornament. "Tell her the other reason you wanted to get that one."
Catherine grinned. "Grandma Ang isn't the only big winner in the family, baby girl. Your daddy has his own claim to bingo fame."
Steve puffed out his chest, smiling at Angie. "That's right. I won the big jackpot."
"Which he donated right back to the senior center," Catherine said proudly. "Except for a little to get a special gift."
"Since a little of your great-grandma's luck had rubbed off on me, I wanted to get her something to return the favor."
Catherine smiled, squeezing his arm. "And she still uses those Large Number Rummikub tiles."
Steve kissed Angie's head. "It won't be long till you're beating us all at bingo and Rummikub, just like your namesake."
Catherine smiled and took the deck blueprint ornament from him, hanging it along with the bingo card.
"I think there's just a couple left," Steve said.
Catherine nodded. "A couple very special ones." She took another glass ball from a small box and held it up, safely out of Angie's reach. "Your daddy filled this with sand from a very special spot on the beach."
A sound from Cammie drew Angie's attention over Steve's shoulder.
Catherine chuckled. "I know I said someday you'd get tired of us telling you about that special spot … but I didn't think it'd be this soon."
"Baahh," Angie said, turning back.
"That spot has a lot of special memories for us, and I love seeing a bit of it on our Christmas tree," Catherine went on before carefully hanging the ball.
Steve passed Angie to her and reached for a black-hinged box on the coffee table, separate from the larger ornament box. It had been taken temporarily from its spot in their bedroom for this moment.
Angie watched his movements as he opened the box and took out a silver compass. Though it was far less fragile than several of the other ornaments he'd held that day, he seemed to handle it even more carefully, with a special reverence.
"This is actually pretty old, too," he said quietly, looking at the compass. "Your mommy gave me this the first Christmas we spent together." He exhaled slowly. "I carried it with me for a long time. That's why it's a little beat up. There were some rough times. But whenever I looked at it, I could hear your mommy's voice telling me there was always one person in my corner." He raised his eyes to Catherine's. "Her." He smiled softly and looked at Angie whose eyes were fixed on him. "A compass is what you use to find direction, and for me, that's your mommy." He turned the compass over, brushing his thumb over the words. "That's why I had it engraved for her. Why I gave it back to her. So she would know exactly how much it meant to me. How much she meant to me, and still does." He looked back at Catherine. "My true north."
Blinking back tears, Catherine leaned over to kiss him.
"And since we share our direction now," she said, "I thought it should be where we can see it. In our room, and on our Christmas tree."
He kissed her again, expressing his complete and heartfelt agreement.
Angie reached out and Steve moved the compass closer so she could feel it.
"Bah eh," she said, her grip on the compass tightening once before releasing. She smiled up at them, and her eyes tracked Steve as he went to hang the compass on the tree.
When he turned back, Catherine smiled. "Are you ready for this year's new ornament?" she asked Angie.
"Eh ehh!"
Steve smiled, picking up a small velvet pouch and sliding a silver disc out. He held it up for Angie to see. "Angie's First Christmas," he read. "2017." Pressing the latch on the side, he opened it. On one side, there was a small picture of Angie from her birth announcement. On the other side, a compass rose was engraved. "Because you guide us now, too, Angie."
He held it out for her to touch. She smiled happily, patting it with her fingers.
Catherine kissed her head, smiling. "What do you think, baby girl? Should we hang it on the tree?"
"Eh ee!" Angie replied, kicking her legs.
They stepped to the tree together and Steve hung the new ornament just below the compass, in between Catherine's 1978 Baby's First Christmas cradle and his train ornament engraved with "Son."
They took a step back, looking at the collection of ornaments old and new, store-bought and made by children's hands, all special and filled with meaning and memories.
"I can't wait for you to pick your own ornaments," Catherine said, holding Angie closer. "And for you to make decorations we can put on the tree. We'll treasure each and every one."
Steve smiled, his arm around her shoulder. "Adding them to our Christmas memories. Because that's the best part of all of this," he said, nodding to the tree. "Reliving old memories, and making new ones."
Catherine looked up, smiling at him. "I'll definitely remember this."
He kissed her softly. "Me, too." He sighed contentedly, looking back at the twinkling lights and the ornaments they'd so carefully hung. "Our first Christmas tree. This memory's a keeper."
Hope you enjoyed!
Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the middle of the night reactions. That was a great way to wake up :-). And thanks again to Sammy for switching days this week!
Readers and REAL McRollers – Thanks for your amazing support! We know you're as excited for Angie's first Christmas as we are!
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