I love little birds perched on my Christmas tree, basking in the gentle lights bringing a warm glow.
One bird is red cloth and buttons stitched to secure the wings, another is Hallmark made of colorful plastic, and the third is carved wood.
Above the birds are a pair of yarn bells my mom crocheted four decades ago.
There are other birds scattered on my tree but I thought this happy trio were suited to be together — just like my own three birds, all so different but incredibly delightful and a collective joy.
(Yes — I still have my Christmas tree up, and we plug in the lights every evening.
It’s one of the ways I get through the dark, cold month of January, along with eating oranges and watching reruns of Seinfeld.)
A native of Southern California, Caroline Mertens moved to Colorado as a teen. She received her B.A. in English and Secondary Education from Colorado Christian University in Denver. Her grandmother's immigration tales of adventure, love, pain, and redemption provided ample amounts of hope, grace, and literary inspiration for her debut, In Those Other Lands.
After a season of work in the Netherlands, England, and France, Caroline returned to Colorado. Over the years, she has worked as a magazine editor, a professional writer, and an assistant to a Young Life director. However, Caroline's most fulfilling career is teaching high school English and Creative Writing. She strives to encourage teenagers to read what they love, and inspires her students to engage in purposeful creative writing. Caroline is passionate about traveling, cooking Indonesian food, and exploring Colorado with her family.
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