Family Stories

In the latest issue of AARP Bulletin (yes, I’m old enough), I read two interesting articles. One is about the songs that got people through a tough moment. The other is about the stories behind those Christmas ornaments. This got me thinking….

What is the song that got me through a tough moment? Or one that means a lot to me? I’ll answer both. I suffer from Dysthymia, chronic low-grade depression. Besides my daughter, hearing my favorite song, “Darlington County, “ by Bruce Springsteen gets me out of bed. To answer the second question, my father passed away in my first year of college in the first semester from stage 4 lung cancer. In my second semester, I heard the James Taylor song “Fire and Rain” and burst into tears. Every time I hear the song, I think of my dormmate Aimee and how she put her arm around me and just let me cry (today she is a member of the clergy). Hearing the song reminds me of the friends who have and will be there for me and to be there for my friends.

The kindergarten necklace

As for ornaments, the Christmas tree was no longer after I was 5 because my sister, age 8, asked why we have a tree if we are Jewish and celebrate Chanukah. I do remember the 2D candle ornament made from homemade dough that dried which I made in kindergarten (long gone). My mother did keep the necklace I made from the same dough in kindergarten and now I have it. As for Chanukah, the tiny menorah that took birthday candles was lost in a move from one apartment to another. I can still picture this blue metal menorah and remember it well.

The point is that it's not the song or object, it’s the story behind them. And most of the time there is a story and if you live in my family, you have heard it 1000 times. Many years ago, at a gathering with family friends, the daughter banned the five stories always told when the two families gather together. The point of the ornament article is to pass on the story with the ornament so that future generations not only have the ornament but the story too.

So if the necklace is still around and goes to my daughter, future generations will learn that I made it in kindergarten and when my mother wore it (she did), people often asked her what crafts fair or crafts store she bought it at. She would always proudly answer that her daughter made it for her in kindergarten.