Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas in June

by Kathleen Gallagher
I named the character of Katy, who is the heroine’s mother in my book, Echoes At Dawn, in honor of my own mother, Catherine. My mother passed away in early June six years ago. She was eighty-nine at the time and lived a rich and full life. Her quick wit and eloquent charm carried her through tough times and brought a smile to the faces of her beloved friends and family. Katy, the elderly woman in Echoes At Dawn, demonstrates her whimsical spirit and uses her magical powers to help her daughter find true love.

My husband and I, along with my daughter and son in-law have a tradition of visiting Cape May every June. Cape May is a seashore town that draws visitors from all over the world. We love the homes in the historic district that are restored to their original elegance. There are luxurious hotels along Beach Drive, fine dining restaurants and even a sunken ship at Sunset Beach. The bed and breakfast’s are abundant and nick- named The Painted Ladies. The streets are lined with gas lanterns of years gone by and there are authentic horse and carriage rides daily. The tour guide recites the areas history along with a few ghost stories to add to Cape May’s mystical appeal. You can take a trolley to explore some of the famous establishments. My favorite is an old doctor’s house and museum called The Emlem Physick Estate. It is the only Victorian house museum in Cape May.

We had a trip planned to Cape May about a week after my mother died. I thought of canceling but my husband talked me out of it. He reminded me how much my mother loved this town, since it held all the charm of years past and made you feel as if you were transported back in time.

So I packed my bags and we were off. I became melancholy on the first day and wanted to relax in our room, but my husband insisted I venture to the shops at Washington Square Mall. I strolled along the street glancing in the windows admiring the array of gifts and antiques. I caught a glimpse of something unusual in a new shop. I found a beautiful snow glove that had a wintery scene inside. It was mesmerizing, so I gave the tiny key on the base a twist and was surprised to hear White Christmas. I had to purchase it. The tune had a special meaning to me because my mother played Bing Crosby’s version from November until almost Valentine’s Day every year. The beautiful sound of chimes gave the familiar melody an enchanting sound. I thought it was strange to hear a Christmas song in June. Nevertheless, I found comfort in hearing the song that my mother adored. My husband held his mouth open, saying, “Grandma is telling you to relax and have a good time and that she is at peace.” I wanted to believe him, but I shook my head in disbelief.

One of our favorite shops is called Winterwood. Each year we hunt for the perfect gifts for our three grandsons. A wonderfully decorated Christmas tree with hand painted ornaments stood in the corner. I reached for the one that caught my eye. It looked exactly like my grandmother’s old house.

My husband smiled when I took the ornament to the register. The two of us remained silent as we returned to the square. A peaceful feeling of acceptance left me speechless. It seemed strange that I found a snow globe in June that played White Christmas and then found an ornament that looked like a replica of my mother’s childhood home. I wondered if my husband was right in his explanation of the events. I realized that I was being sentimental and looking for anything to make me feel better. Nevertheless, we spend a glorious week in the place where I received an early Christmas gift. I will always treasure the lovely ornament and the memory of the day I found a globe that played White Christmas in Cape May, in June.

Do you have a favorite Christmas ornament?

I hope you all have a memorable holiday season. One of you will receive a beautiful hand painted seashell Christmas ornament from Winterwood, in Cape May. Please include your email address with your comment.

Find Kathleen:

KathleenGallagher.net

Kathleen's Place to Reflect blog


25 comments:

  1. I do have a favorite ornament, it's one my oldest daughter made for me in school. It's a bell made of clay with a picture of her in it. I put it on the tree every year. I love seashells, and lighthouses. I live in the middle of the US so I haven't ever seen one, but I collect postcards of them. I also have some seashells that my daughter brought back from a trip she took. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  2. My favorite ornament is a very fragile gold sailing ship. I'm very careful with it!

    Sounds to me like your mother reached out to touch you and bring you comfort!

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  3. Ornaments with a sentimental value are the best. Especially one made with tender loving care. I love seashells and lighthouses too. Climping the stairs to the top of a lighthouse is a different story.

    Thanks Linda,
    Happy Holidays
    Kathleen

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  4. The gold sailing ship sounds unique and it must be beautiful, Maureen.

    I do find comfort in the little things that seem to happen right when you need them.

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  5. aww what a sweet story .
    My favorite ornament are actually a set of disney ornaments, my hubs bought for me the year our first child was born .

    meandi09@yahoo.com

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  6. Kathleen, you know how I feel about connections to our loved ones who have passed, so safe to say, I feel you had a lovely visit from your mother. Cape May is a favorite spot of my family's as well. Having small children we frequented the Cape May Zoo. Sucha beautiful, quaint town... I miss it a lot. Merry Christmas to you!

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  7. Cape May sounds beautiful. The holidays do bring out the sentiment in all of us, it makes me remember everyone who has gone and I always cry a little. Then I think of all those who are here, especially all the kids in the family, and I smile. Merry Christmas all!

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  8. It was my pleasure to care for children in day care centres for fourteen years. Occasionally, I would receive small gifts from the parents. One of these gifts I will treasure forever. It was given to me by a deaf parent.
    Even thought, I'm sure, at times it was frustrating for her, she always quick to smile. Her adorable infant daughter knew some signs and was able to say "more", "juice", "please", "thank you" and could understand more signs. To help communicating with the mother, I enrolled in a sign language course offered through the local community college. That Christmas, I received a small hand-made clay ornament from them. It was a small hand forming the sign for Love.
    Happy Holidays

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  9. Cape May is a beautiful place! I went there as a child a few times while I was getting medical treatments in Pennsylvania. We went on many day trips and Cape May was one of the few I wanted to go back to repeatedly. I still have handfuls of those clear rocks that look like diamonds and remember rolling along the beach on a treasure hunt for those rocks. Being from the Midwest the ocean was so magical and vast and I kept hoping we'd see pirates. I'd love to go there as an adult, so I'm thrilled you didn't give it up.

    joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

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  10. Got carried away talking about Cape May that I didn't mention ornaments. My favorite is the talking leg lamp in the fragile box that Hallmark put out a few years back. I love that movie and we push the button repeatedly to hear the dad talk. It always makes me smile.

    joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

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  11. My favorite ornament is a blown glass hummingbird.

    kissinoak at frontier dot com

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  12. *sniffle...sniffle* What an endearing post, Kathleen! Thank you for sharing this moment in your life with us. I found myself nodding and agreeing with your husband.

    I have a bunch of favorite ornaments and they are all homemade by my children. I'd decorate my tree with only them if I had enough to fill it up! =D

    Merry Christmas Kathleen!
    ~huggles~
    Gracen

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  13. Well, don't laugh guys, but my favorite Christmas ornament is of John Wayne. My daughter thought I should have something I liked under her tree and so I found John and the rest is history. I like western no matter what, and John Wayne is always a plus.

    It takes a long time to get over losing someone, I should know, I lost my husband four years ago. At Christmas I remember how he loved decorating for the holidays and went all out. One year he put up a home-made metal Christmas tree that he designed and he worked day and night on that tree. The neighborhood came to see it and all thought it so grand that the little ole man worked so hard on a tree for Christmas. So yeah, the holidays can mean a lot of different things to different people. Guess that is why I get teary eyed every year. God bless, and as time goes by, it does get easier.

    Love, blessings and a very Merry Christmas to you
    Rita

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  14. My favorite ornaments are the ones my kids have made--they're sloppy and crooked and totally adorable ;)

    f dot chen at comcast dot net

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  15. My favorites are also the ones made by my four children during their elementary years. They are all grown, but I still cherish their ornaments.

    Thanks for sharing your beautiful Christmas memories.

    andrea DOT infinger AT gmail DOT com

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  16. Myfavorite ornament is really ugly. It was given to me by my boss many years ago. My kids hated it and it became a game to see who could hide it the best. Every year they all looked for that ornament to see who could find it first. I still put in on my tree in remembrane of those good times.
    debby236 at att dot net

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  17. I have so many:) I love the ones that my children made for us and now the ones that my grandchildren make for us!!

    I have 2 small gold balls that were on our first Christmas tree. My husband's mother gave us the small silver tree with the gold balls on it. (I am telling my age:)) It had come out of their business's office. I have put the two balls in my hutch just to keep them from breaking, because everything else is gone. This was in 1965 and I do not remember how long they had used it in their office:)

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  18. I have a ceramic truck I painted when I was two or three. I have loved that ornament ever since I was little. At college, I got drunk one night and knocked my little tree off the table--the truck broke in half. I glued it back together, but it's a constant reminder to me at the holidays about keeping it together and not going overboard. I don't always listen, but at least I still have it to poke at me.

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  19. I loved all of your comments. I truly appreciate you sharing your precious memories about your favorite ornaments with me. Thank you for all your support.

    I will be notifying the winner.

    Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a joyous new year.

    Kathleen

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  20. I love each and every one of the ornaments my daughter has made in school. But my favorite has to be the one she made with my mom. It's a picture of her with a paper frame that's decorated with a variety of things. She's just too cute in the darn thing! Happy Holidays!

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  21. Thank you for sharing with us. My favorite ornaments are the ones my children make me. This year my youngest made me 3 snowflakes out of puzzle pieces that she painted white and glued on popcycle sticks.

    Happy Holidays,
    Brandy
    brandyzbooks@yahoo.com

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  22. I love hearing about everyone's holiday memories!! My favorite ornaments are the ones that my boys make and give to us for Christmas. They hang on the tree with all of my ornaments from when I was younger!

    cbandy10(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  23. It sounds like you are making memories for you and yours. Happy holidays

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  24. my fav is one that my daughter made, very special meaning, it goes on the tree near the top.

    Dina

    dlsmilad (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  25. My favorite is a very old bell made of sequins, I made it with my late grandmother when I was five! I cherish it even though it isnt shiny or new , its plain and simple and reminds me of wonderful days with her.

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