by Scott Anthony

After Dad passed this last spring, the task fell to us, his kids, to go through his belongings and sort out the items we wished to keep and those that might benefit charities like Goodwill.  In the garage this winter I packed the boxes of old paperbacks and glassware into the back of my brother's truck, the knickknacks and curios filled the truck, each one a small reminder of the 50 plus years I had coming into this house.   One big box left, I hefted into the truck and saw that it contained Christmas decorations. While I waited for my brother to get off the phone, I poked through the contents.

Old tinsel strewn glass bulbs, a string of tree lights that may or may not work and near the bottom, a tree topper in the shape of an Angel. I recognized the rough-hewn wood and paint work. Dad made it.  One wing was smaller than the other, the gown was painted white originally but was now flaking badly, and he made a bow out of twine. I don't remember seeing in place on his Christmas trees, so perhaps he thought it wasn't good enough.

I took it and blew the dust from it and put in my van and forgot about it until tonight, when the Mrs. A and I began decorating the tree.  I went to the garage, found it behind the van seat and brought it in to show her.
"Your Dad made that?...it's cute!" she said, and with that I got the step stool out and went to put on the tip of the tree. It fell, once, and I caught it and realized that it was going to need a better fastener. Back in the garage I found a bit of wire and a couple of small screws and after a couple of minutes I had Dad's Angel secured.

When the big, difficult things in life loom up and command our attention, the little moments are even more important to remember. And memories of those evenings after dinner when Dad would say to me, "Hey, let’s go work on that project!" seemed onerous to a 14 year old, but I cherish it now.

Dad, working alone in his shop with great mock secrecy, made lots of neat and silly things for his wife, his children and his grandchildren. An oddball footrest for Mom because her legs were too short to reach the floor of the car, magazine racks because he loved his periodicals, useful things like wheeled garden totes, goofy bird feeders and lovely rocking benches for us kids, and toy cars and scooters for his grandkids.   I have one of his benches, a bird feeder and now I have his tree topper. Even though it's slightly rough and cracked, I love looking at his handiwork, and I think he knows it too.