Things Matter Too

I just finished reading a book - "The Things That Matter" by Nate Berkus, an interior designer made famous by his own work and his frequent appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show. Something he wrote struck a cord with me - enough that I copied this paragraph and stashed it in my "Think more about this File." He is talking about the things we have in our homes, the objects we choose to display:

"Each object tells a story and each story connects us to one another, and to the world. The truth is, things matter. They have to. They are what we live with and what we touch each and every day. They represent what we've seen, who we've loved, and where we hope to go next. They remind us of the good times and the rough patches and everything in between that's made us who we are."

Often we hear that things aren't important, that we shouldn't become attached to "stuff" but I have always been a little suspicious of this thinking and am feeling quite vindicated by his words. Several years ago I terminated a relationship with a decorator after she suggested that I " clear out" a shelf area of my living room where I continually rotate the "things" that matter to me. As I recall, she wanted to replace these things with "statement pieces" which she would select!

While Berkus doesn't write specifically about the things of Christmas, as I was decorating the house this week I certainly reflected on his words. As we unboxed the objects of Christmas, I was struck by how the history of our Christmas' unfolded before me: the felt banner I made the first year we were married; the angel that has topped every tree since I made it in 1971, the year we moved to our first house; the wreath I sewed using scraps of fabrics from other garments I had made. And then there are the tree ornaments - enough to cover several trees - gifts from friends and family, paper ornaments made by the girls in childhood, ornaments carefully carried home from faraway travels - each one tells a story, carries a memory.

As I carefully unwrapped each figurine of the Hummel Nativity set I inherited from my mother, I thought back to how joyfully she built this set in her later years, once commenting how happy it made her to know that I would treasure this collection and pass it on to my children. The only crèche we had while I was growing up was the cardboard set of the 50's - so many families had this fold-out stable that became worn and tattered by the love of many little hands through years. In addition to the Hummel set, I have acquired other nativity sets in travel and enjoy displaying them all.

Santa Bears are among the biggest "things" of Christmas at our house. First sold by the Daytons store in 1985 and issued every year for 20 + years after, these bears came to be the heralders of the season for us. They appear on St. Nicholas Day and disappear on Twelfth Night, all 28 of them! Each Santa Bear has a unique costume and it's hard to have a favorite, but I lean toward the "baker bear" who occupies a spot in my kitchen

Other "things that matter" at Christmas time include our collection of Swedish figurines. J and I bought the first ones in 1976 when we were in Denmark. We have lovingly added to the collection over the years during other travel and at annual visits to Ingebretsons Scandinavian Market in Minneapolis where we get our Christmas ham and lefse. N especially has delighted in these figurines and recently she asked if she could have the collection someday. I am pleased to know they matter to her, as much as they do to me!

And then there are the angels! Mother gave me Anri angels for several years during the time she worked at a religious store in Austin. They are beautifully crafted, but delicate, and a few show the years of display by sporting carefully repaired wings and halos! I also have a set of 6 angels, each standing no taller than an inch, each holding a musical instrument. These were given to me by my "secret Santa" during one of my college years and have been displayed during Christmas in some room of our home for the past 40+ years.

Looking around I see other things that matter - the needlepoint Christmas goose picture from good friend, G ; antique candle sticks made from parts of an old loom, a gift from P&R; a bird carving from D&M; Grandma K's antique sewing machine.

Things don't matter just because they've been around for a long time; there are more recent things, like the beautiful glass candle sticks from C, the amazing coffee table book of crèches that N gave me, or the growing collection of snowmen that occupy the display spaces in my kitchen. Just gazing on these things evokes a feeling of connection - to the people who gifted me, or to the places I've been, or the people I've met while acquiring these things.

These people matter - and so do these things.

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