This Year’s Ornament

Each year I give Hannah, Kevin, and Michael their own Christmas tree ornaments. Sometimes they’re similar — like the year each received a musical instrument corresponding to the one they were playing or the year I knit mini socks.

Sometimes I’ll find an ornament over the course of the year that just seems to fit or represents something from their life that year.

When the day comes that they celebrate Christmas in another home, they’ll have a personal collection with which to decorate their own tree.

In early December, I wondered what I would give this year — this challenging year of so much togetherness draped in so much loneliness.

• A vegetable to represent the garden that Kevin helped me build?
• Sea glass from the beaches that nourished Hannah’s spirit during her early morning visits during the spring and summer?
• A replica of the name tag that adorned Michael’s uniform during his months working at a restaurant?

None seemed right.

While reading yet another news article about COVID-19, it hit me. This ornament needs no date. I have the materials needed to make it. Like our perception of this pandemic year itself, I believe our impression of this ornament will change over time. At least, that’s what I told the kids as they groaned when they unwrapped these small ornaments.

Plus I could knit it.

Wishing you a healthy, hope-filled start to the new year, dear blog. Mask up and stay apart, so we can be together in 2021.