Angel

Yesterday I received the most meaningful birthday gift I have ever gotten.  It didn't cost my mom a dime, and yet it came with a lot of sentimental value and memories.  It is something so irreplaceable to me and I am so grateful for it. 

It was the angel we put on the Christmas tree.

When my dad passed, Mom decided we would do Christmas differently.  There were things we used to do as a family (receive ornaments from our parents, use those ornaments to decorate our tree, place the angel on top, etc..) that my mom decided should stay as memories from our past.  She didn't want to continue those traditions without my dad because it felt wrong.  It made me sad...completely changing everything that I was used to but it made sense why we did.  I always looked forward to watching dad put the colored lights on the tree as mom, Sam, and I watched a Christmas movie (this was before trees came pre-lit!).  I enjoyed (and disliked) Mom telling us where to put the ornaments so the tree didn't look to heavy on one side while we all argued and rolled our eyes at her.  I even loved putting the angel on top and then admiring all of our work.  That was Christmas to me.  And ever since Dad died...it just hasn't felt the same.

I have been asking for years now if I could have our old angel to use on my own tree because it reminds me of dad.  Mom kept telling me that I couldn't have it until I was engaged, so when Chris proposed I knew it was finally time to bring it up again.  I told Mom I didn't want anything materialistic, I just really wanted the angel.  So when I opened it last night....I started to tear up a little bit.  It just meant so much to me that she finally passed it on.  My parents got that angel the Christmas before I was born, and we used it every single year of my life until Dad passed away.  Mom even let me use it the year he died since I wasn't ready to let go. 

It just goes to show that the most meaningful gifts aren't the ones that are the most expensive.  My mom gave me the most wonderful gift I have ever received, and I can't thank her enough for it.  I love that angel because of the memories that go along with it and because I feel like it carries a part of my parents with it.