Author and Senior News Editor of RE, Linda McMaken shares a first Christmas ornament that still adorns her tree. Welcome, Linda.
Almost hidden in the midst of pine needles and tinsel is one small ornament most visitors to my home never see. It isn’t an ornament really, it is just an old, discolored wine cork, but it has held a treasured place on my tree for thirty years.
It was from the first Christmas my husband and I ever spent together. That first year was pretty darned rough financially, and we didn’t have much money. Hubby managed to procure a tree an Christmas Eve-Eve, along with a very, awful, very bad, very cheap bottle of wine. Being young, he figured if the bottle had a cork and not a twist top, it should be good stuff.
We popped the cork celebrating a new life together, popped a huge amount of popcorn and drank the awful wine. Stinging the leftover popcorn we twirled around the branches of the tree, I added a set of borrowed twinkle lights from my mom, and hubby I sat on the floor with cheap wine, popcorn, a blanket and we were happy.
The little cork has been on my tree through children, mortgages, illness, grief, happiness, cookies, Santa, reindeer, laughter and tears. Each year, we have been fortunate enough to hang that little cork on another tree together, and we smile, kiss and give thanks that we have been blessed with another year together.
Whatever ornaments, tinsel or garland has brightened our Christmas since then, that cork as remained through it all.
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! And may God bless us each and every one.
About Linda:
Linda is the Senior News Editor for Reader’s Entertainment News, Senior Media Marketing 
Manager, and scriptwriter for COS Productions, freelance writer.
She is also the author of the 5-starred romantic comedy series The Three Baers – Baer Truth, Baer Necessities and the soon to be released Baer Facts (April 2013). You can learn more about Linda by visiting her website. And you can follow this link to find her latest book.
