A couple weeks ago I found three boxes in my basement that were filled with the old Christmas

ornaments. They've been packed away in 1987. That was the last year we had Christmas

with my brother Carter. He died seven months later and my mom and I never celebrated holidays again. The dreaded holidays, that's what my mom

started calling them, which always made us giggle.

I mentioned in the first season of the podcast that I didn't realize she and I had the same

strange laugh until just shortly before she died and I listened to this audio that I'd

recorded of her.

She and I would still get together on Christmas and Thanksgiving, but we'd usually just go to

the movies.

I'd seen the boxes of ornaments over the years but never opened them until last week.

I was amazed that most of them were intact and I recognized so many of them from my childhood.

On the back of one which looked like a gingerbread cookie, my mom had ridden my brother's name,

and noted that the ornament was a gift to him from her Aunt Telma.

Another ornament had a photo in it of my dad and mom and brother and me in front of a Christmas tree.

I was maybe three years old.

When we got our tree last week, I brought the boxes up from my basement.

My son Wyatt was singing. This is the first Christmas, Wyatt is really excited about.

This is the first Christmas Wyatt is really excited about.

He's nearly four and has fully woken up to the fact that Santa brings gifts,

reindeer land on roofs and jingle bells is a song he can sing all day long.

The one of our business may. Hey! long. He made a list of what he's hoping Santa will bring him.

He wants a toy car, two candy canes, a rainbow, a pillow, and knees.

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