Blue Song...

I finally dug out my Christmas decorations the other night, so things are a little cheerier around my home than my last post might have suggested.

And there's one item in particular that really warms my heart.

When I was little, we used to spend most (maybe even all) of our Christmases in Connecticut, with my father's family (we lived in Virginia at the time). Most of my memories of those holidays come in flashes of sights and sounds and even the smell of all the baked goodies.

But the thing that is firmly implanted in my memory is a baseball-sized, shiny blue ball which looks like an ornament. It belonged to my Aunt Mary, and when you pulled the ring on top, it played "Silent Night." I loved loved LOVED it, which just goes to show you that I've always been easily distracted by shiny things. I used to call it "Blue Song."

A few years ago, I opened a small box my aunt had sent to me. Lo and behold, my beloved Blue Song was inside! I got so excited that I called her (and my mother) immediately, crying the whole time. It looks great, considering that it must be as old -- if not older -- than I am. And it still plays its pretty little tune.

I was so amazed that my aunt not only remembered how much I loved this thing, but that she still had it. And now that I think about it, how cool is it that she let me play with it as much as I did? I can't believe that I, in my infinite klutziness, never broke it.

And every year, when I pull it out of the box of Christmas decorations, I get tears in my eyes and a smile on my face, remembering a time when I was less jaded, and when all it took to entertain me was a shiny little thing that plays a Christmas song.