Merry Christmouse

silverballsSo, are you Christmas-ing yet?

I got off to a bit of a late start this year….

Oh, I trimmed a beautiful tree on the first of December.  It’s six-feet-and-change of tinselly silver ~ lit with fine, white fairy lights and generously adorned with assorted sterling trappings including (but certainly not limited to) vintage Shiny-Brite balls, glitter-encrusted pinecones, embroidered satin stars, big beaded snowflakes and sparkly Swarovski drops ~ all lovingly hung on gossamer white ribbon.

And I carried that silver theme throughout our little cottage, suspending a ridiculously large silver wreath over the breakfast nook.  It, too, is studded with shiny silver balls and glittery pinecones ~ a complement to the tree which sits just across the small, but open room.

3ornamentsA big crystal bowl, filled with more Shiny-Brites, dominates a tiny side table, tying everything together.

Martha Stewart would approve.

And, yet, it just didn’t feel like Christmas.

Perplexed, I added two silver candles to the mix.  Then I put out a crystal goblet filled with silver bells.  But it still didn’t feel like Christmas.

Over the next couple of weeks, I shopped with gusto, carefully selecting gifts for the people I love.  I wrapped and packaged them for journeys across states, across the country and even across the globe.  But I still wasn’t feeling the Christmas.

I didn’t feel much of anything for much of December.  I was going through the motions and wondering if Christmas would come.  I mean, I knew the day would come….  But would that happy, Christmassy feeling ever arrive?

I’m so pleased to tell you that it did.

It was delivered by US Post Friday afternoon.  And it came from a not-so-familiar return address.

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The package was from a virtual acquaintance ~ someone I’d “met” online while delving into a new hobby.  She’d been kind and had a wonderful sense of humor.  And, though our communications were few and far between, I think we both felt we’d found a kindred spirit.

Despite its diminutive size, the little brown box was bursting with big Christmas cheer.  The note inside made me smile.  It made me cry, too, in that good, warm, somebody-loves-me sort of way.

It was, in essence, a virtual hug.

I didn’t need to unwrap the gift inside; because the hug was really all I needed.  And I was still feeling gentle arms around me.  But I did.  Unwrap it.  Because there was something shiny in there….

Beneath the red and green tissue, nestled inside a tangle of slick gold paper shreds, were two tiny gold mice.  They were made of walnuts, paper and felt, carefully constructed and held together with love.  Dressed according to gender, there were darling satin bows and pearl accents for each, with fine whiskers made of filament and wire.

Christmous

“More great fun” this Christmas!

 

They made me smile.  Their homespun beauty reminded me of long-ago Christmases when holiday decorations were conceived in the heart and created by hand….  And when that Christmassy feeling was so much easier to find.

That’s the moment when Christmas came for me.  It was all in knowing that somebody unexpected was thinking about me.  And in knowing that somebody took a little time so that I would know it.  It was also in thinking ahead to the coming year ~ when I would take a little more time and send a little more cheer to someone else who might need a little Christmas love.

The mice, who I’m now calling “Mr and Mrs Christmouse,” make me smile each and every time they catch my eye.  And they do catch my eye.  A stand-out in any setting, they are the single gold accent in our sea of silver.  And they are truly this year’s Christmas delight.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas….

 

 

Comments

  1. Cat says

    Aw, how cute! They remind me of a little walnut and green felt turtle I made as a child (with the help of my babysitter). I loved that turtle and I think I still have it in a box on my closet shelf. I’m going to have to go look for it now.

  2. Jennifer says

    If you find it, e-mail a good picture and I’ll share!
    That goes for everyone with any special homespun Christmas pieces….

  3. Mo says

    What a lovely story, Jenn! I too am waiting to find Christmas; maybe it will be in the package that arrived from the coast yesterday!!! ;0) Love you!

  4. Jennifer says

    Thanks, Mo. 🙂 Love you, too!

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