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When I got home after working late in a studio, I peeked in our bedroom. My wife Catherine (and Louis, our dog) were long gone asleep.
I was turning off the lights and heading to bed. With a scent like nothing else in the world - I knew Catherine must have gotten a Christmas tree earlier in the day.
There it was -- in our living room.
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And I imagined how that tree would be blanketed with lights and ornaments…
How the girls would be stopping by over the next few nights, as they always do, to help us decorate the tree.
Every year it’s the same drill.
With Christmas music playing, Catherine and I wrap the tree with lights, and then all of us dig into a box of all our favorite ornaments from way back.
They’re every color, shape, and size; some the girls made, some Catherine and I made as kids, some with little pictures, with drawings, of places, you name it.
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When we find a gem tucked away in the box, we kind of ‘shine it up’ a bit before we give it a special branch on the tree.
Kind of our way of saying, ‘we’re glad to see it again.’
And, in that little moment of hanging ‘em up there, each one of us is pulled back to the memories of that ornament.
It’s a story of our friends. Of our places. Of our passions. Of what we share together.
It’s kind of a biography of a family – right there on the tree.
It’s a funny word when you think about it. Ornament.
Makes ‘em sound kind of unimportant. Who wants to be an ornament?
Doors. Maybe that’s what they should be called. I like that better.
And then I did what I’ve always done on each night of a Christmas season.
Before heading to bed, I put a branch of the tree between my palms - and rub the scent on my hands.
And in my hands is everything beautiful that I’ve ever, ever known.
In that moment, in that quiet moment -- I give thanks.
To the privilege of family. To the gift of dearest friends. And to being right where I am.
May you find in your tree…
That door…
To the wonder, the amazing wonder of it all.
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Please share your experiences!
Jimmy Dunne is modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter of 28 million hit records, writer and producer of hit television series’, award-winning book author, an entrepreneur—and his town’s “Citizen of the Year.” Reach out to him at j@jimmydunne.com.
You're writing is always a joy.