The Christmas Angel

My skinny little tree has a new topper! Well, kind of an old/new topper. Thanks to eBay I have a genuine antique 1950’s spun glass and cardboard angel! Why is it special? It was an angel exactly like this that my daddy lifted me up each year to place on the top of our tinsel-laden tree. Through the years I remembered the angel. I guess the original one fell apart and was discarded. In the early 80s, I clearly remember a day I was shopping in TG & Y. Oh how I miss TG &Y! I must have been in my early thirties, with 3 little kids and on a tight budget. On the Christmas aisle, in a section of “retro” decorations, there was my angel! At least a reproduction - an inexpensive one at that. I eyed it. Even though I didn’t consider it as fashionable as the topper I had, I wanted it! I put it in my cart, but as I continued through the store choosing gifts, wrappings and stocking stuffers, the calculator in my mama brain decided it was not essential enough to spend - how much - maybe $10, possibly just $5! I could always get it next year. Next time.

For the next 40-something years, I visited the “retro” aisle every year- there were always a few decorations that reminded me of my childhood tree - but never my Christmas angel. Last year, I thought of eBay! I made my first “bid” and waited for a reply! It was substantially more than the 5 or 10 bucks I would have spent in 1980, but worth every penny.

In this pandemic year, few people come to my house. I almost didn’t put up the tree. After all, it’s just a scrawny little tree with hodge-podgy decorations. Then I remembered the angel! I’m happy I put it up. It reminds me of a father’s love and the wonder of a child at Christmas. It reminds me of the year my memories became “retro.” Now, I’ve graduated to “antique.”

2020 has tried to catapult many of us into the category of “elderly.” Almost like a protected species. Certainly into more isolation. Less connection. We are blessed to have lived through many seasons and to remember many “versions” of ourselves. Which of these versions am I now? Likely a composite of them all. I remember them all with gratitude to the Lord who loved me through them. I look forward to seeing a new “edition” in 2021.

P.S. My friend Maureen commented that this describes what God our Heavenly Father meant for our lives to become as we age - a thing of worth and value.