Memory Lane - Christmas is for Children (November and December 1981)

My last post ended with Halloween, and Christy's first sighting of a Jack-o-Lantern. Halloween, from a point of view, is really the start of the holiday season. We decorate, we wear funny clothes, and we eat more than usual. Especially sugar. The kids have fun, too. And then on the first day of November, we begin our slow but certain descent into Thanksgiving.

Things aren't so obvious in the beginning. Life appears normal. We dine.

Have birthdays.

Play with our food.

Exercise (this swing was not like current motorized versions; I had to crank it up).

Figure things out.

Worry about the future.

But mostly just lie around and look cute. Glow even.

But before you know it, the next holiday is upon you. That year we spent Thanksgiving with my family up north in Linwood. It was a fun time for the growing brood of cousins who didn't get to see each other that often. Here's a pic of my parents home, set on a couple of acres on a country road northwest of Bay City.

A little dreary outside that weekend, but warm and cozy on the inside. Here are a few pics. The girls gathering in the kitchen, giddy about something. Maybe they were just happy to see me. From left to right my mother, sisters Wendy and Cindy, Wendy's eldest Jennifer, and Wendy's second daughter Melanie ducking behind Jennifer's elbow to avoid injury.  

These girls were busy doing other things.

Here is a rare group photo of the six grandchildren in business in 1981. From left to right Tristan (Wendy's son), Ted, Jennifer holding Christy, Melanie, and my brother Jeff's daughter Dee Dee (actually little Dolores). 

Some of us dressed better than others for the occasion, complete with party hat.

There were some important parenting moments, like this little father-daughter exchange.

And some heartfelt grandparenting moments like this thoughtful interlude shared by my dad and Ted.

And this "grandma knows best" lesson with my mother. You can just see the reality of this principle crystalizing in Christy's still forming (but eternally active) psyche.

Of course, the whole affair was expertly chaperoned by my parents' dog Eureka, usually referred to as just Reka. Aptly named as she was a foundling. 

She did have eyes, but they were not often seen through her curly coat. And she got along famously with this other curly member of the family, seen here in happy repose. 

Thanksgiving in our review mirror, we ambled back to our comfy Dearborn abode to prepare for the onslaught of the next holiday on the horizon.

A couple of years ago I published a trilogy of posts wherein I describe my personal conception of the annual holiday season. It began with the post subtitled The Launch, and continued with The Gauntlet and Splashdown. As we are now deep into the 2020 holiday season, you might derive some comfort from a re-read of those posts as a reminder that you are not alone in your desperation. 

But I must clarify that in 1981 life was simpler for me, as were the holidays. Things were less stressful, more even-paced and not at all like the whirlwind freefall described in my trilogy. Nonetheless, the holidays were still busy. The first series of events were gatherings with friends, formally and informally, to celebrate each other and our times together. Here are some pics.

These first few were of a cookie baking party with Bob A. previously introduced as the best man at our wedding. Bob and I became good friends when we were drafted together in 1970 and shared our basic training experience. There are some good stories from that time, but they'll have to wait for another day. As you can see, Bob was just the personality we wanted our kids to spend time with.

Here's a shot of Nancy with fellow IRS manager Brian C. at a holiday luncheon. 

We haven't heard much about Brian since he retired many years ago. He was a good friend to both of us for many years and a true kindred spirit. He, like many of our IRS friends, was a creative soul who stumbled into the IRS to earn a living. Brian was a talented musician, sketch artist and writer. And was a delight to spend time with.

Here's a memorable shot of Nancy with another, even closer old friend Bobby D., taken at a holiday gathering at Bob's house. 

You've seen Bob in this blog before, and will again. Bob had his issues. But when he was up, he was way up. And a true audiophile. My penchant for having high quality, multi-dimensional entertainment systems in every room came directly out of spending time with Bob and his toys. He had quite an influence on me. Unfortunately, Bob eventually came to a sad end, which I will get to in time. But this is how we remember him. A caring friend, sharp-witted and always up for fun.

Of course, it wasn't all about friends. The march to Christmas had many family moments, too. There was a holiday visit from Ted's sister Jamie, and another attempt to photograph this curious triumvirate. 

Chewies to gnaw over, for some of us.

Some serene moments to reflect on the wonderfulness of all the activity.

And of course, a lot of lying around looking cute.

Amidst the hoopla, the holiday itself eventually arrived. For us the celebration that year involved several days and multiple venues. It was a foreshadowing of what the future would involve, just on a smaller scale. There was the tree, of course. 

If you look closely, you might be able to tell by its asymmetrical beauty that this was a real tree (at least real before it fulfilled its destiny and hit the post-holiday curb). As with many if not most new couples, we were purists. Struggling with crooked trunks, unruly branches, daily watering to keep the tree from drying out and in my case an allergy to pine needles. But hey, it was cool.

Here is a shot of Christy's first "in-front-of-the-tree-Christmas-morning" experience. There'll be more of these.

We had Christmas morning at home, with a only a modicum of frenzy as Ted was modeling proper behavior for Christy. Here's a pic of Ted demonstrating his technique with Nancy and Christy looking on.

The early morning experience was a little much for the four-month old. She snuck in this cat nap between formal events.

Then it was over to Nancy's parents' house for more festivities. For some reason there are very few pics of that afternoon. But I did find this gem of Ted, crashing on Grandpa's bed on what I believe was a new sleeping bag, exhausted from the Number 1 day in the kid year. It appears he found his way there with a transformer in one hand, a Star Wars aircraft in the other, and a new lantern.

The next day we headed back up to my parents' place for more revelry. The cousins were there for a do-over of the Thanksgiving gathering. Here's cousin Melanie enjoying the aftermath of the gifting activities.

Ted and cousin Tristan were in high gear.

Cousin Jennifer, the oldest member of the gang, found some solace snuggling with Grandma.

Meanwhile, Grandpa and Ted took to the snow, first for chores.

And then some fun. Not sure who came out on top in this battle of the generations.

Meanwhile, Christy quietly took it all in from her special perch right in the middle of everything, comforted by her special find of the day - a big, fuzzy ball. 

Nancy and I enjoyed our time with the crowd, but were happy that the holiday energy had peaked and was slowly ebbing back to normal levels. Here's a pic of Nancy savoring a moment.

And one of me with my two favorite gifts of 1981, Christy and my new Christmas sweater. Hey. It was the '80s.

As the weekend visit came to an end, there was one more memorable shot. Here's Christy, crashed in place from all the stimulation. Note her footwear, or should I say lack of it. We didn't realize at the time that this would become a familiar scene. More to follow on this little personality foible.

Back in Dearborn for the end of the year, we relaxed. Ted was deep into what I refer to as his cowboy period, during which he liked to sport full western garb, including this vest.

And Christy, with her first Christmas under her belt, was becoming pretty ambulatory in her little scooter and learning about toys. 

That little yellow car on her tray was a present that year. After 40 years it's still part of our household, now as a part of our cache of grandchild amusements. It still looks good, and it's horn still squeaks.

This brings us to the end of 1981, and to the end of this post. Thanks for listening.

Happy holidays, everyone. I offer this closing thought for the event.

Twenty-twenty, I must say,

You are not invited to stay.

Please timely depart,

So we can all start,

Twenty-twenty-one. Hooray!

 Grosse Pointe Charles