#Middlebury #Christmas
By BRIDGET HENRY
Dear Larry,
Although I have never met you and have absolutely no idea who you are, I have thought about you many times over the years. When you first became a part of my family in 2008, I would often wonder if you might be standing next to me in line at the store or parked next to me at the gas station.
Sometimes I would hear the name Larry or meet someone with that name, and would be tempted to introduce myself and ask if you were THE Larry. But I never did. Instead, I think of you fondly each and every December and say a little prayer for the Larry I have never met.
And so Larry, wherever you are, I write this letter to you and your family as a letter of thanks for all of the love and laughter you inadvertently bring to my home every year. There is no way for you to have known that you landed on my Christmas tree all of those years ago. But you did. And since then, you have become a treasured Henry family memory.
Your legendary status in our home began one day in December 2008 after a morning spent at the Middlebury Public Library. In those days, the library held a one-day holiday sale where kids could shop for dollar items to give as gifts during the holiday season. The Larkin Room was transformed and filled with items for kids to buy. Though there were some brand new things, most of the stock consisted of gently used treasures donated to the sale by the people of Middlebury.
I loved bringing my boys to that event. Over the years, my husband and I received some pretty hilarious gifts from the sale. There was the light-up tie that did not light, the broken golf ball and a variety of mugs. One year I got a cat food bowl. (We’ve never had a cat.) But we truly loved each and every one of those gifts and knew we would never receive anything of greater value than those one-dollar items.
That Christmas in 2008, we were again excited to see what the boys had picked out. Told it was fragile, I carefully unwrapped my gift from Owen and found what was obviously a used Christmas ornament. It looked to have been a handmade craft and had clearly come from someone’s home. I oohed and aahed and made a very big deal over the gift. Owen beamed with pride.
When I turned the ornament to show the room, I suddenly realized it was actually a personalized ornament. Only it didn’t say my name. Or the name of anyone I knew. Hand-painted in big gray letters was the name “Larry.” Beneath that was the year 1987.
I tried not to laugh and held the ornament up for everyone to see. My oldest son yelled, “Who’s Larry?” Smiles turned to chuckles. Then, in a heroic move to shield Owen from the laughter, my husband stood and said, “Well, I wish you all a very Larry Christmas.” The Larry Christmas tradition had officially begun.
And so, Larry, I thank you. And I thank whoever made you that ornament all those years ago. It is and always will be the first official ornament on our tree. We think of you and your family fondly and hope this story brings you as much joy as your name has brought ours.
Happy Holidays to you and yours, Larry. As always, I am happy and grateful to be Somewhere in the Middle (of a Happy Holiday and a Larry Christmas) with all of you.
