By Corin Bauer
Core memories. These are supposed to be about five or so of the most important memories that will shape your personality, behavior and sense of self. I don’t believe there to be any kind of age limit to making core memories, but I’d be inclined to think that in general most tend to be made while we are young and impressionable. At this point, I’d ask you to stop for a second and think of one of your core memories in life, something that is part of you and part of who you are today; something that has “shaped your personality, behavior and sense of self.”
Growing up (and still living) in an area like the Mad River Valley, it’s easy to be reminded of vivid memories from childhood that seem to be ingrained into the fabric of who I am. From recalling old timers and neighbors who are no longer with us, to the numerous restaurants that were around every corner that we still long for (Den Burger with bleu cheese and salad bar anyone?) to the fun and chaos of the Sugarbush Triathalon -- which I still to this day am perplexed by -- running, canoeing, biking and XC skiing seems like more of a quadrathalon than a triathalon – but I digress. Memories. They are what shape us, what bring us back to another time, and what we are made of.
One of my favorite core memories is from when I was a child and it was the holiday season. The excitement, the wonder, the beauty and the joy of it all felt immeasurable. Along with decorating the tree and throwing all that sparkly tinsel on at the end, my brother and I would always be delighted when my parents hung up the Christmas star, basking everything around it with the red glow of lights. Now, . . . it was Christmas.
We’d of course be wrapped in the holiday spirit and would drive around town gazing at the lights hung upon houses and businesses, we’d oooh and ahhhh when we passed the blue memory tree and back in those days we would even drive all the way to Burlington and go up and down Church Street to see the window displays and all the holiday lights. The magic of the season, aglow in twinkly lights. Core memory and warm fuzzy feeling locked in.
Fast forward a few decades. That little Faystonian is all grown up and now a small business owner in town, with Christmas fast approaching and lights needing to be hung. So many options, so many possibilities -- yet one simple idea came to mind that brought me back to that moment, that gave me that warm and connected feeling inside: The Christmas Star.
That year (in 2013) I built a star out of some saplings in my yard and wrapped a couple strings of lights on it and hung it up on the building for all to see and enjoy.
What happened next was really an organic transformation of how one little seed of an idea can grow into so much more. The next couple years the stars multiplied beyond anything I could have imagined. They grew to all sizes and all starry shapes, they were hung high, they were hung low, they were wrapped with lights of multi-colors, they were even depicted shooting across barns and they had even expanded to other states where people still wanted to feel that connection to home -- without actually being in the ‘802. People wanted to feel a piece of The Valley and of togetherness and they expressed that with the hanging of stars. What a sight to see, what a beautiful thing to be a part of year after year. I still tear up.
These simple Christmas stars have meant so much to me over the years and with the tragic loss of five of our own in The Valley they started to take on a whole other meaning. Yet at the core of it all – it was the same.
Togetherness. Love. Support. Connectedness. Encouragement. Kindness. Hope. Community.
As you’re going through the last couple weeks of the year, I ask one more thing -- as you see those stars twinkling here and there, to be reminded of some of those simpler moments. Places you’ve been, the people you’ve known -- what has been the driving force to get you here to this magical valley and what core memories have shaped you to be the person you are today.
While you mull that over I’ll leave you with a nugget of truth from a talented artist named Moby and a song he wrote around 2006.
“People they come together.
People they fall apart.
No one can stop us now.
‘Cause we are all made of stars.”
Bauer lives in Fayston.
