Onamentation

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Originally uploaded by coralinad

"That is the most beautiful tree I've ever had," he said last night.
"Don't we say that every year?" I asked.
"I don't," he replied.

This tree really is perfect. It actually fits all of our ornaments! Turns out I cannot part with ornaments. They are the ticks and tocks of my life. There is the ice skater and snowman that my grandmother painted with me when I was four. The GO VEGETARIANS collage a friend made for me when I was 16. Evidence of my 4-H craftiness. The rainbow needlepoint my grandfather took to making when he could no longer do much else. And of course, the souvenirs. Two from Iowa State University which was kind enough to hire me out of library school. One from the Shaker village at Sabbath Day lake where my mother and her cousin and I toured last summer.

The best one of all - the one that is front and center on our tree - is the tiny ox yoke Jack bought on our first date at the National Historic Trails Museum. Who could have predicted?

"I didn't know it was going to get me yoked!"