Ribbons and Crayons and Pictures to Share

A Christmas Story – 12/23/2023 (5-minute read)

Some people still like to wrap Christmas presents the old-fashioned way. Plain brown paper, that old timey narrow ribbon, bows tied by hand. I love it when I get one of those gifts because it brings back a Christmas memory of curling ribbon. The first time I saw someone drag a closed pair of scissors down a strip of ribbon pressed against them, how the ribbon curled up fascinated me. Tight frilly curls have an almost magical way of changing something that is normally long into something very short, at least for a while until it straightens out again.

The way Christmas can do that with time is one of the magical things about the season. So many memories that are stretched over time, some vivid and some faded, have a way of curling up around the sights, sounds, tastes and smells we experience this time of year. Also caught up in those curls like mischievous snowflakes in a child’s hair are a swirl of emotions. Christmas ties them all together like a big bow that is somehow beautiful, fr…