"Mom...You're going to Cause a Fire!"

Years and years ago I started putting a string of lights in this old coffee jar. I had it on my shelves in the kitchen. I was careful to leave the top off the jar and kept my eye on it when the lights were plugged in. Tim, always the kidder in the family, came for Christmas dinner. He noticed the jar and said that he thought it was a fire hazard . We had a family  member...who will remain nameless...who was always worried about things. I think it was his way of poking fun at that relative. He really got me going....I wondered if it was safe, but I loved the "look" so I left it...careful to keep an eye on it.

He then moved toward the mantle where I had my village set up. Strings of lights were under the cotton "snow" giving a pretty affect to the village.He started telling me that the lights under the cotton was a fire hazard too.. I wasn't worried about this...I had seen it done in store windows.

I was painting crafts in those days and had tiny wooden blocks that spelled out Merry Christmas...a letter on each block. They were set up on the mantle. The kids were forever moving these blocks around to spell crazy words. The three of them did this over and over. When they would leave, I would have to check everything to see that things were right.

I had a little desk that was a music box. It had a tiny drawer. After my Dad was visiting, I would find a quarter or something funny in the drawer.He did this every time he visited. I always called him, to tell him that I found what he had done.It was something fun that Dad and I shared.

As I got the jar out this year and put the string of lights in it...I thought of all the fun my kids have brought me over the years. These funny things are what I remember most today. My kids are all full of jokes and laughter. Tim being the oldest was the leader and his sister and little brother were his sidekicks. I can still see Tim bent over in laughter  when he was playing a joke on me.
Balisha