“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder A few pieces from my mother’s Santa collection / Cindy La Ferle I’ve written a few newspaper columns and magazine essays about the bittersweet task of sorting through your parents’ belongings while preparing for an estate sale. The whole process takes you on a winding trail of memories, starting from your early childhood and leading you right up to the moment you find yourself putting price tags on your family heirlooms. After my mother died, I couldn’t part with her collection…

“Family traditions help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.”  ~Susan Lieberman Thanksgiving at Nate & Andrea’s, 2017 / Cindy La Ferle My late parents loved holiday traditions, and I think of them often this time of year.Right after Thanksgiving, my mother would adorn every tabletop and wall in the house with beautifully crafted decorations that rivaled those at Colonial Williamsburg. My father’s favorite carol was “Joy to the World,” and he would belt it out, off-key, every time it was played on the radio in the car or on the stereo at home.  My folks also loved to entertain our…