My Three Ornaments

One of my favorite websites, www.m-w.com, defines the word, "ornament", as follows:

or·na·ment

noun \ˈȯr-nə-mənt\

Definition of ORNAMENT

1 archaic : a useful accessory

2 a : something that lends grace or beauty

b : a manner or quality that adorns

3 : one whose virtues or graces add luster to a place or society

4 : the act of adorning or being adorned

5 : an embellishing note not belonging to the essential harmony or melody —called also embellishment, fioritura

 

 All of these definitions certainly apply to the beautiful ornaments I received as gifts from family and friends this past Christmas.  

 

My friend, Kevin, in North Carolina, gave me the Biltmore Santa ornament with my name on it.  The detail to the house and presents on the ornament catch the eye and also serves as a reminder of my two trips to Biltmore during my first year in NC.  Some day I hope to go back in the summer and see the beautiful gardens.  Everything else about Biltmore is spectacular so I would expect nothing less of the flowers and greenery there!  If you ever find yourself in Asheville, I highly recommend you take a tour of what is touted as America's largest home.  One of my favorite parts of the home can be found in the basement!!

 

My little 6 month old nephew in Philadelphia, Thomas, gave me an ornament he "made" this year as well.  The glittery green Christmas tree you see below is actually Thomas' footprint!  What a creative idea!!  I look forward to some day, when Thomas is in elementary or high school, teasing him about how I have an ornament with his tiny footprint on it.  Perhaps he will want to recycle that Christmas gift idea...can you imagine receiving an ornament that contains a teenage boy's footprint?! 

 Finally, while I am not a bird lover, I was drawn to the sparkly silver bird that my parents purchased for me at The Christmas Village the other night.  The pictures shown here don't do the sparkly winged creature any justice and I just know that my niece will love how it twinkles and sparkles when I show it to her upon my return to NC!  

I also look forward to displaying this silver bird all year round.  As soon as I laid eyes on this unique ornament, parts of the poem by Emily Dickinson popped into my head (in which she defines hope by comparing it to a bird):   

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

We had been on our way out of one of the many gift shops at The Christmas Village, when just before I reached the door (and my parents had already exited the building), the beautiful silver bird caught my eye.  When I told my Mom how it reminded me of hope being a thing with feathers, Mom and Dad insisted that they buy it for me.  As Dad reached into the display to retrieve the delicate ornament for me to inquire about the price, Mom also said that the bird reminded her of this quote:

"Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes

 When Mom shared that quote with me, it reminded me one of my favorite sayings from Helen Keller:

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."

Both of the above quotes are inspiring and strongly urge us to follow our dreams, to have hope, and to go after them, no matter the obstacles!!