When my grandsons Brody, Blake, Weston and Jameson say goodbye or when I put them to bed they always know the last thing I say to them is “Nonna loves you to the moon and stars and back”. And if you ask them why, they say because our angels are in between and are watching over us.
Today I’m grateful for an idea that I’ve had for a while but only now acted on. Having had mom and a very special person from my professional life pass this year, I knew I had to honour them. But with this came an opportunity to show my grandsons the meaning of life and of family history.
So what did I do?
I bought a pencil tree which really wasn’t expensive
I ordered a battery operated hanging glass moon light
Had some old battery operated strings of star lights
Bought a battery operated star tree topper
Had Gianni convert the battery operated items to AC adapters and put the tree up and the lights. (Which I am extremely grateful because he did an amazing job)
Ordered 4 packs of Angel Wing Pendant Heart Photo Ornaments
Found or took pictures of pictures of all the people I wanted to honour
Put all the photos on a page and ensured the sizing was right
Went to Staples and got the page printed in good quality photo paper, even though many are black and white photos, they all turned out wonderful
Cut out the photos and stuck them to the angel wings
I bought four packs of 6 angels, so that meant I had 24 in total. Never did I think I would have 20 angels to put on our tree. But as I created each angel ornament, I thought of the person they were they in my life and how they impacted me. Some, like my dad’s father or Gianni’s mother, I never met but without them I wouldn’t be alive or wouldn’t have the life with Gianni and I was so grateful for them. Others I laughed when I remembered certain things, like how my mom’s mom belly jiggled like Jello when we laughed. Or like when my dad’s brother Enzo was the investigator and figured out that “NO” the rock didn’t come through the window, but that I had actually rocked the chair and the arm went through the window.
I purposely took a moment to reflect on why they were important to me and it gave me peace. Yes I cried with some, but that in itself helped with the healing process. My Angels were all ready and yesterday my four grandsons were here and I laid the angels on the counter. We put them in family tree style of order and we talked about them all. My older boys understood and were in awe of how many angels we had. The younger ones only remembered a few and Weston said "I miss baby Nonna", who was the last person he lost. He also knew who his grandpa was even though he had never met him.
Once we finished talking about our angels, they now had the task of putting them on the tree. All the boys took an angel and put it on the tree. Weston took his grandpa and said I have the perfect spot. The adults all stood back and watched with wonder how each angel got put on the tree. I know we each hurt a little seeing them placed and knowing they are not with us. But also felt great to know they are here with us now, for us to not only think about them but see them. And when I say or my grandsons say “I love you to the moon and stars and back” we remember the moment that we got to see and talk about who they were in our lives.
Life is way too short and why my motto is now and always will be LIVE LIFE WELL – ALWAYS.
Here is our beautiful moon, stars and angel tree. Oh yes, I ordered 12 more angels, so this tradition can carry on through the generations. My heart is full….
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