Ah-One! Ah-Two! Ah-Three!

Nope, not counting the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. (The answer is three, by the way, if you ask the wise owl!) Today, I tell you about Ornament Number Three on my tree (which is fun to say, because it rhymes)! 

Since I seem to be going back in time and sharing kids' ornaments, let me share one given to me when I was a child...well, a young teenager. I was in the seventh grade when I received this one...

In all it's handmade goodness, this ornament was not made by me. It was a Christmas gift from Eric Troutvine. He was the first Eric I encountered in school, and he was very cute. I may or may not still have a polaroid of him...from 7th grade...he was sitting on some kind of motorized bike, wearing a red jersey. And I once called the popular-with-the-teeny-boppers radio station to request a song for him on a Saturday night, because that's what a girl did when a girl liked a boy when I was in 7th grade. (We didn't have iPods or smart phones back then, kids.) He must have liked me a little, too. After all, he gave me a gift for Christmas that year. But in the end, nothing really came of it. 

Perhaps it was just that 7th graders really can't "date." Or maybe he just wasn't that into me. Some have suggested that his mom made the ornament for him, and I suppose that could be. I think she really liked me...even though my mom goobered her name pretty good at a band concert. Eric played the saxophone, and I played the trumpet...and our moms met each other for the first time at that concert, where my mom exclaimed, "Oh! You're Mrs. Troutfish!" I was MORTIFIED!!! Really, Mom?!? I'm still a little embarrassed for her (and me)!

I think there were a total of 4 or 5 Erics that I went through school with. I've totally lost touch with my seventh-grade swoon, but I am Facebook friends with a couple of the other Erics...and that last one? Yeah, I married him. (Lucky me!) And every year, when I put up the tree, I put this ornament on it. It's like a first love, kinda...or a gateway craft. After all, I have made my share of beaded things! To this day I cannot easily pass up a kit for making beaded Christmas ornaments. I don't always buy them, and I rarely work on or complete them (how could I, what with all the knitting?), but I love and linger over every one, just the same. 

So thank you for an awesome Christmas gift, circa 1980-something, Eric Troutvine. I'm sure I said that in 7th grade. I'm sure I did, but I'll say it again...thank you! I'm sure that ornament is part of the reason that I am so very crafty today! Just think, if I had not "like-liked" you in the 7th grade, I might have turned out quite differently. As it is, I'm pretty happy with the me I've become, and I think of you for a moment every Christmas when we decorate the tree. I hope that you have all you need, and that life is treating you well. Oh, and how's your mom? :)

That's my wish for all of you in Blogland, too! I hope that you have all you need, and I hope that life is treating you well. As I look at Ornament Number Three on my Christmas tree, I pray that your blessings outnumber your trials, and that you find contentment and joy in both today and in your own fond memories.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!