Turning on her light, she barely stirred more than a deep
breath inhaled. Other than her hair
streaming out, I could see nothing beyond her two colorful quilts, made with
love by a grandmother and an auntie, covering her small body.
“I wonder if the Tooth Fairy came?” I mused.
Fast as a cork released, she popped up from her cherry red
framed twin bed. Taking no more than a
second to steady herself, she ran down the hall to the blanket folded into a
pillow left on the table next to the front door. The tradition began with her big brother and
his first lost tooth. It was only
logical to leave the pillow near the door to make the exchange easy for the
welcomed Tooth Fairy.
Not my first rodeo, I had my camera already in hand, turned
on, ready to capture her expression as she saw the lump in the blanket
pillow. Already smiling, she rapidly
progressed to squealing with delight as she pulled out a present from the fairy
who had taken her first lost tooth and left behind a small toy. In the low light she saw the small Lemon
Meringue figure from the Strawberry Shortcake bunch, a tiny comb, itty bitty
hair clip, and a long hot pink hair extension.
I might have held a piece of technology in my hand, meant to
capture moments in a flash, but the best moment captured was her pure joy
burning a place in my heart. The
pictures will record the gap in her mouth, the jammies she wore, her hair
pulled back, but my heart will hold her bubbling delight in its treasures.
* * * * * * * * *
I've already shared my excitement for the creative bonanza that is Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, but the other creative infusion I get at this time of year is from Ali Edwards' December Daily album.
I've always wanted to create one, in real time, throughout the month of December. Without a photo printer at home, I've never been able to make the project function for me (same reason I've struggled with Project Life, but I'm toying with some ideas for next year and will get back to you on that! :>).
But, no more excuses! Whether I jump in and get a December Daily album put together or not, I'm not going to let 2011's December memories fall into the blurred oblivion of one Christmas season fading into the next. To ensure that, I've been writing a single story (or journaling it, if you're coming from a scrapbooking perspective) to etch the day into our family's preserved memories.
And I thought I'd share today's with you!
How do you preserve your memories?
