Old Friends & Decapitation

This weekend, we got our Christmas decorations out and started the job of sorting nick-nacks and shuffling odds-&-ends from box to box ~ putting out the good and throwing out the bad. In the very last box I came across an old friend that has graced our home for more than a decade. To a stranger, it may not look like much (after years of wear & tear), but it's always been one of my very favorite Christmas things ~ because Lee gave it to me.

Can you see the little golden reindeer on the front steps (picture from '06 or '07)?

Lee is the first person I remember (other than family) which makes him my very oldest friend.

(how else would I have gotten this picture)

And even though we don't see each other very much, he will always be one of my favorite people in the world.

Summer 2008: The Ivy Knoll Gang

He also gave Robbie & I these doves one Christmas. I think they are older than the reindeer and they go near the top of our tree every year. If I remember correctly, he was inspired by one of the "Home Alone" movies.

I'm working up to a point here ... and it's not to Crown Lee the King of Christmas or to assert that Scott & Darryl & Barry are merely tarnished little stars on my Christmas tree of Memories ...

It's this ... Christmas is the ultimate memory maker. I just can't imagine who I would be without the amazing memories this holiday gave me growing up ... I can't imagine what those years would have been like without my friends and my parents ... without the super-fun parties and hilarious gag gifts. Remember that time, Chris Thurman put the "Give Me Head 'Til I'm Dead" bumper sticker on Dad's back??? Remember those X-mas Thongs mom gave to Lee, Scott, Darryl, & Barry (pictures not included to protect the employed). Remember when Donnie Hanson got beat up by ... who was that??? Kevin Williams ... ??? Remember when my Uncle Carl tried to sell Darryl & Scott that 'magic' fruit??? Remember those "I Love Uncle Lee" t-shirts??? ... I could go on forever ...

That little reindeer and those two doves give all of that back to me ... every single year.

I look at them and I laugh my head off and sometimes I even cry ... they are tied to who I am inside ... to who my friends helped me to become (thank you) and I know that I am so blessed and grateful for every minute I have had with them ... and I am looking forward to making more memories in the years to come.

Even though I'm all grown up now and have a family of my own and the memories keep on coming, I will always cherish those Christmases with my friends and know that those memories are among the best gifts I've ever received and nothing can ever take that away ...

not even decapitation:

(Little Golden Reindeer 2008 ~ awaiting repair surgery)

So I encourage all of you ... every single one of you ... young & old ... to make a memory this year ... with your friends, with your kids or your spouse ... or with a complete stranger ~ just make a memory and then stamp it with something that will help you hold on to it forever. You won't regret it ... I promise!

Merry, Merry Christmas & Much Love To All Of You