I was sitting in the diner yesterday morning enjoying a breakfast burrito between my blood draw and my doctor’s appointment. I was enjoying the December issue of Country Sampler magazine and chatting online with my friend, Linda. She was telling me about her rough day on Sunday when she was trimming the tree, broke two ornaments, fell off her ladder, struck her head on a table and broke two more. This reminded me of a story I hadn’t thought of in years so, of course…I knew there was a post in there.

Mr. Virgo LOVED Christmas! He planned and schemed all year for just the perfect gifts and could barely wait till the dishes were done on Thanksgiving to put up the tree. We decided the first year we were together that we would buy a new ornament every year on vacation. That way, when we decorated the tree, we could relive the memories of our trips. We loved Ne’Qua ornaments and knew how beautiful our tree would be in our old age when there would be so many of them in the trimmings. Ne-Qua ornaments are hand painted by skilled artisans on the INSIDE of the glass and they are truly stunning.

One year, we were decorating the tree and as I took the newest fragile glass ornament out of its protective box, it slipped through my fingers and fell on the carpet, narrowly avoiding disaster. That is, until I grabbed for it, knocking it into the metal base of the coffee table leg, breaking it clean in half. I sat on the floor, holding a piece in each hand and cried. Mr. Virgo, came over and put his arm around me and said, “Look, baby doll…we can glue this back together. Then, every year when we hang it on the tree, it will remind us how fragile life is and how blessed we are to have each other.”

As it turned out, that was his last Christmas so there were no more ornaments purchased together. I’ve bought three since…picking out the perfect ones that I knew he’d love…tears in my eyes. I haven’t had a tree once I started living in my camper. And, since I’m spending Christmas in Colorado again this year, I didn’t put up a tree at the farm either.  The ornaments are safely stored in a friend’s basement till I gather them to me.

This is the fourth Christmas without Mr. Virgo. I didn’t get a special ornament this year. Maybe next year…I don’t know. One thing I know for sure…I’ll always treasure that broken ornament the most. It showed me, yet again, what a kind heart this man had. ❤️

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭45:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬