About 22 or so years ago, among other things, we started collecting Christmas Angels.

It, like all other collections got obsessive hoarderesque out of control crazy to be a bit much.

We had all kinds of angels, paper ones, plastic ones, cloth ones, country ones, Snow Baby ones, pretty ones, scary ones, ugly ones, you name it, we had have them.

The two I like to call The Baldwin Sisters, Judy and Ann, UP in North Carolina caught wind of this disturbing obsession hobby, and sent us a glass angel.

It had a light bulb inside and it lit UP.

Very cute, very nice, a “keeper”.

When the kids were little, lived at home, cared enough to call and not text , and were super excited about Christmas morning, the Glass Angel came in handy.

You see, when he was done leaving presents under the tree, Santa would turn the on angel before he swooshed UP the chimney.

What the old dog was doing to turn the little strumpet on is beyond me, but none the less, she was lit UP every Christmas morning.

And the kids knew they couldn’t come out of their rooms until the Angel was “lit”.

Amazingly, they were always really good about that.  Shelby and Donovan stayed in their rooms anxiously waiting to see the light come on, and if it wasn’t, they didn’t budge.

So, when the boy came over this past weekend, and put UP the tree, I was pleased to see the Glass Angel sitting on the table in the entryway at the bottom of the stairs.  Take that, Elf on a Shelf!

Some traditions take hold.

Some memories keep.

Some things matter.

And some things touch a little kid.

And a Dad.

…Donovan…

Party like it’s 1989!!

Having married into a family of Amish-Lite, really, I’m not kidding, Christmas can be a little dicey.  My wife’s family are for the most part Old Order Dunkers, or members of the Old Order German Baptist Church.

Frankly, the first “family” event we attended after we were engaged was a culture shock for me.  No one told me about the ‘differences’, because they were all used to them.

I, not so much.

And you know me.

Gawking, speechless – well, maybe not speechless – stunned.

Every married man there had a beard that hadn’t been cut since he said “I do.”, and all the women were in bonnets, the same style dress, and all the guys had broad brimmed hats.

I kept looking for Rod Serling.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  They are wonderful people.  Good people.  Devout people.  I just wasn’t expecting it.  My wife’s father had grown UP in the church, but when he married my mother-in-law, she said, “Are you kidding me?”  No make UP, no store bought dresses, sensible shoes.  It just wasn’t gonna’ happen.  So, since my wife’s immediate family wasn’t brought UP that way, I had no idea.

And I had questions.

Lots of questions.

There were little things, like, where’s the TV?

They don’t have them.

What’s your favorite radio station, they don’t have radios.

Why is everyone kissing each other when they meet.  (There’s a verse in the Bible that tells us to “greet the brethren with an holy kiss.”)

I thought I’d married into the Amish.  But, not really.  It was Amish-lite.

They drive cars.

My greatest faux pas happened one Christmas when they all came to Florida for the holidays.  We were all sitting around the family room enjoying the colorful lights on the tree , drinking cider, and just enjoying one another.  I asked one Aunt if she had left her tree UP while they were gone, or taken it down before they left.

The room fell silent.

She simply replied, “Oh, we don’t ever put UP a tree.”

Needless to say, Christmas without a Christmas tree is an anathema to me, and I replied, as only I can do, “No, tree?  That would be awful.  I can’t imagine Christmas without a tree.”  The delivery was NOT drama free!

She simply said, “Well, we see it as a form of pagan worship, so we just don’t do it.”

Really, someone could have told me.

Just a little hint would have been nice.  You know, pull me aside and say, “Hey, they don’t put UP trees, so don’t ask, and for goodness sake, don’t tell!”

But, nooooooooooooo.

Hung out to dry.

You may wonder why this story ever made it into a blog post, but recently, I saw a picture of Amish Christmas Lights, and it brought back memories of times and Christmases gone by, so I thought I’d share the picture and the story.

Yes, here it is, an Amish home decorated for Christmas.

They don’t have electricity either.

Today is the birthday of my sister-in-law, Diane.

This is my most recent picture of her.

She’s a tad camera shy.  Born on Pearl Harbor Day, not THE Pearl Harbor Day, but many, many, many years later, her birthday is often over shadowed here at Redneck Latte Ravings due to my compunction to honor our veterans.  But, today, I’ll take a break from that and wish her a Happy Birthday.

She’s a great sister-in-law, who speaks frankly and honestly, and we get along pretty well as long as I agree with her on most topics.

An avid reader like myself, we discuss books and writers, and steer clear of topics we know will bring emotions to the rise.

Diane married my brother, Charlie on 6-8-68, when she was a mere child, and is the mom and aunt of the two whiners incredibly talented ladies over at MomminitUP!  Also know as Jenny and Emily.

She’s also mom to Jenny’s two under discussed brothers, Charles and Andy, grandmother to a passel of kids that would make Mrs. Duggar jealous, and a non-meddling mother-in-law to two very intelligent ladies and a guy I like to call “The Bobster”.

We not only share books, and she is THE only person on the planet I’ll loan a book to with the exception of my daughter, we share recipes, thoughts, ideas, and have great conversations on the rare occasion we are able to spend some time together.

She also reads my blog every day!  BAZINGA!

I’ve never seen her take the spotlight, but in the family of attention seeking  maniacs star-wannabes into which she married, and with a media hog for a daughter, who has time?

Please don’t go thinking she’s a wall-flower, that’s truly not the case, and when there is something that needs to be said, she will.

Some of my favorite quotes are:

“Raised by wolves.”  And in every case, she’s right.

“You need to forgive people even when they don’t know they need forgiving.”

and, my all time favorite, when nothing else need be said, is, “Some people.”

Really, it applies to so many!

So, happy birthday, Diane, I hope it’s a great one.  I hope you’re surrounded by the people you love and those who love you.