Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle – #737. Our host is
Brenda Warren; her prompt words for this week are
shown below. Here’s where the prompts took me.
lingering, felt, sharp, human, point, oddly,
full, sense, instead, joy, sit, and place
Tricia wrapped each ornament in tissue paper, the lingering scent of pine still sharp in the air. She felt the weight of the glass ball in her palm – the one her mother had given her twenty years ago – and turned it slowly, watching light dance across its surface.
There was no point in rushing this. Instead, with Sinatra singing softly in the background, she would let herself sit with each memory as it surfaced. The wooden reindeer from her first apartment with Gregory. The oddly misshapen clay star Finn had made in kindergarten; now he was in college. Each ornament had its place in the boxes, but also in the full journal of her life.
She understood why some people found this task melancholy, but she felt a quiet joy. These weren’t just decorations being put away. They were proof of continuity, of traditions kept and love sustained. Though inanimate objects, each year they made an appearance, marking time in a very human way.
The tree will come down tomorrow; tonight, she would take her time, honoring each sense of connection these small treasures carried.
NAR©2025
This is “Christmas Memories” by Frank Sinatra
All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy Richy and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
This is wonderful Nancy and exactly how I feel about each and every ornament we have on our tree.
Maya has her own hanging bauble tree and this year a little elf with her name on it too. There is an yellow plastic star from my childhood, small gifts from distant friends, things Hubby made for me when we had no money, and small tea plate crackers we won in a raffle and didn’t have the heart to pull. Then of course we have the tiny tree my niece made for us when we were in our first house (1990 to 1996) which stands pride of place on the window sill. It is decorated with broken chains, mismatched earrings, beads and broken bits of tinsel, but so much love went into it.
Everything is now packed away and the house cleaned throughout ready to start the New Year afresh.
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it all sounds so wonderful, Di. It’s lovely nice to have stories attached to our ornaments.
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The memories are precious.
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beautiful and so full of memories 💜
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Thanks so much, sis. It’s important to keep these traditions.
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It really is Sis 💜💜💜
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What a beautiful tradition. I hope she keeps it up every year.
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Thanks Jodi. I’m sure she will.
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It dropped down into the 30s here last night, so I only put the front Christmas lights on, and nobody ever sees the back ones anyway.
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We have some little white Christmas lights in the bedroom which no one sees except us, but I put them on anyway. They are very romantic and I’m thinking of keeping them up all year 😊
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A very sweet post Nancy.
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Thank you, Sadje. Traditions are important.
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You’re very welcome my friend
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Happy 2026 🥂
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Thanks. To you also 🎉
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