I had the BabyGrands over today, although they aren't so much babies anymore. Arya is about to turn eight, and Claire is five and a half. I told them we would be getting out the Christmas ornaments to decorate the tree, and they were very excited. They danced and hopped around the room in anticipation as I began to open the boxes, and were very eager to help place the ornaments on the tree. But as I began to take out the ornaments, I realized, with dismay, that many of my kid's homemade ornaments, all of which I have kept through the years, are starting to look a little raggedy. Four different Rudolphs, with major problems. One with no wiggly eyes at all, just shadows where they used to be. Also his antlers were both torn clean off. Another Rudolph with just one wiggly eye, the other one lost to time. The third Rudolph, a brown cut out image, was missing both antlers, just like the first one. But the fourth Rudolph kind of threw me. He also was in the one eye club, but that was nothing new. He has been missing an eye for many years. We have come to love our one eyed Rudolph, something I made out of wooden clothespins when I worked for Michaels. But I couldn't figure out exactly what it was that was throwing me off, until one of the girls shouted out, His eye is on his BUTT! Then I realized that somehow, his one remaining eye had become disattached from his face, and reattached on his rear end. Poor Rudolph.
Also, in pretty bad shape, was the Toilet Paper Christmas Choir, made by one Katherine Elizabeth Stephenson, somewhere between second and fourth grade.
I set aside all the misfit Christmas ornaments and decided to take them upstairs to the craft room/office, to see if I could do something to preserve them. Enter The Repair Shop. I LOVE that show. I have watched every episode that is available in the US. It got me thinking about how I could conserve them. So I set to work. That poor Flat Rudolph with no antlers got some laminating paper. I had to take his pom pom nose off and reglue it to the outside of the lamination, but there was just no other way to save him. The other Rudolphs all got new wiggly eyes, and that led to the funniest moment of the day. I was looking furiously for my packet of wiggly eyes. I knew I had them, but I could not find them anywhere. I said out loud, Now where did Grandma put those wiggly eyes? It was a rhetorical question. I wasn't expecting an answer. But Claire piped up without missing a beat. In the Wiggly eye drawer? I snorted out loud with laughter, and they joined in. And now I neeeeed a wiggly eye drawer.
Later, after they had gone, looking for extra batteries, I found them in a drawer. I went right upstairs and applied the eyes where they were needed.
As for the Toilet Paper Christmas Choir, I think I am going to cut them off of their toilet paper rolls, and trim around them, being careful not to cut any of the original art, remount them all, maybe even all together, like a real choir, side by side. I'm still mulling it over.
A tiny little part of me is sad, though, as much as I am enjoying conserving my children's artwork. I realized that the ornaments are getting old. No more just throwing them hurriedly in the Christmas ornament box, as I tear Christmas down, in an effort to move quickly into the new year. I am really going to have to be careful with these things if I want them to last. This is the first year I have given this such consideration. The first year I have had to have a Repair Shop of my own for our family Christmas ornaments. It just seems like yesterday they were bringing these things home from school, proudly displaying what they had made, and thrilled that I would put them on the Christmas tree.? Now two of my kids are in their thirties, and one is not far behind, and I am just realizing that some of these ornaments are almost thirty years old. And that it has been many years since the last time anybody brought me something they made to put on the tree. Where did the time go? I'm frankly just a little amazed that it has gone so fast. It's wonderful and a little bittersweet.
But mostly wonderful. Now, back to the TP Christmas Choir.
No comments:
Post a Comment