“Mom! Why are all of MY ornaments broken?” My oldest whined as we sat surrounded by boxes and tissue paper. We were decorating the tree on Saturday night.

“Remember the year your baby sister broke like 10 ornaments?” I reminded her.

Oh yeah. That. Last year, my then four-year-old had become obsessed with all things tiny: Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shops, doll houses and any tiny little toy she could get her hands on. So when our tree went up in 2010, she had the hardest time keeping her hands off the beautiful little ornaments.

They were all just so glittery and perfect occupants for fairy gardens.

There is nothing so neat and organized in my whole house as my giant container of boxed Christmas ornaments. It represents years of my life. Some of my ornaments reach back into the 1970s, still in their original boxes, and they only see the light of day for 1/12^th of the year.  There are silver Wallace bells, photos of my girls and various angels, little drummer boys and polar bears.

My daughters each have their own ornaments too. They get to hang theirs up on the tree, and because of their height, the bottom half is usually where theirs end up. Last year, Naomi systematically (it seemed) picked off with the accuracy of an assassin most of the ornaments on the lower branches. Barbie’s lost their hands, teddy bears lost ears and a porcelain Breyer horse lost her leg. Most of them became limbless as they tumbled from tree to the tile in the dining room.

“My HORSE!” I pulled out Hope’s 2009 Breyer horse from it’s box, legless, and handed it to her. “Even this one? Why can’t she stop dropping things?”

I looked at my five-year-old, with her enthusiasm as she put her own half-broken ornaments on this year’s tree.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. Because she’s five. Five-year-olds drop things.” And as if her hands were coated with melted butter, she did. Even in our current tree-trimming escapade she dropped (and broke) two ornaments.

“I’m sorry Mama!” She gasped. I hugged her.

“I know baby. Just be careful,” and I put my own special ornaments behind me. I would put those up myself.

Dropping things. In my frustration I wondered why she just couldn’t hold what I gave her. Why, even though she is five, can’t she just keep it in her hand so we all wouldn’t have to bemoan another ornament casualty. She’d even broken one of my nice dishes the other day in the kitchen after Thanksgiving. Why did she keep dropping things? 

Maybe for the same reasons I keep dropping things.

Sometimes she has too many things in her hands. She runs through life with a little stuffed animal under one arm which severely hinders her ability to carry things in from the car or hold other things with her hands. She drops things because her hands are too full.

She also drops things because she’s still growing up. Her little hands don’t have the same kind of motor control that mine do and her little arms don’t the same strength.

I know that I drop things all the time. I drop people, I drop emails, I drop responsibilities and relationships. These are things I SHOULDN’T drop, and I get mad at myself when I do, but I can’t help it.

Sometimes my hands are full of other things. I am learning to put things down {obligations and schedules} so that I don’t drop the very things I do have in my hands. I don’t want to drop friendships because of my unwillingness to put unimportant things down.

And then other times, I drop things because I’m being independent. Or I’m trying to be. I’m not asking for help when my arms are too weak. I’m not accepting it when my life just doesn’t work right.

I used to think that dropping things was just part of it; that those things were acceptable losses that are a part of simply living in this busy world. Friendships drop off and emails don’t get returned: that’s life. But now I wonder if “dropping things” wouldn’t happen as much if I learned to put other things down and to accept help when it is offered.

My tree got trimmed. No ornament was broken beyond recognition. And Naomi knows if she touches the Christmas tree this year she’ll have to do 25 jumping jacks (which she’ll turn into a dance number).

Do you “drop things?” What methods have you learned to be more present with your time or to be more efficient?