Christmas Memories # 18

     Over the years I've learned a few lessons from ornaments ;)  Or tried to anyway... =/  These plastic, wooden,  decorations can't speak and yet, a few of them do - at least to me.

    Lesson # 1. Humility...  When Hallmark first started coming out with Barbie ornaments and cartoon ornaments, I sort of stuck my nose up in the air.  Hmmmphh.. They are way too expensive and have nothing to do with the true spirit of Christmas!  A Barbie doll?  Come on!  Get real!  I don't think we're talking Mary and Joseph here!   And then, guess what?  In 1995, they came out with two ornaments that I unashamedly fell in love with and just had to have!  One was Thomas the Tank Engine.  How traditional is that - a plastic blue train with a smiley face on it???  But it was David's favorite toy and so I had to have it on my tree.  The other one was even less Christmassy.  I have to admit I purchased one of Olive Oil holding Sweet Pea in her arms:)  This one had even more sentimental meaning for me.  When I stayed with my grandparents, I didn't like to go to bed, of course.  So after they finally got me into my bed, my grandfather would holler out from his bedroom, "Good-night, Olive Oil!"  And I would yell back, "Good-night, Popeye!" and start giggling.  At that time he knew that I considered Olive Oil the height of glamorous femininity so that was his pet name for me.  He died in April 1960 on my mom's birthday and his last words  to her were, "Take care of my little girl and tell Olive Oil I love her."  You can be sure Thomas the Tank and Olive Oil are on my tree every year even though, yes, they have little or nothing to do with traditional Christmas tree ornaments and yes, they were probably overpriced.