My Love/Hate Relationship with Christmas Trees

This year I REALLY didn't want to put up my Christmas tree. My 63 year-old body protests at the thought of bringing all of the boxes down from the attic, assembling the parts, stringing the lights, putting on the ornaments and cleaning up the fake needles from the floor. In addition to all of this, it's the memories that put me in a melancholy mood . . .

Memory #1:

When I recall the Christmas trees of my youth, I can't help but recall how excited we all were to decorate the tree. The rule in our house, however, was that we could not do anything until Dad strung the lights. He was an electrician, after all, and the lights weren't LED lights as they are now. It was probably best that he string the lights. I remember anxiously waiting for him to get finished -- then we could have at it. The style back then was to hang "icicles" from all of the branches. As kids, we didn't have the patience to place them one at a time on the branches, and I'm sure Mom followed behind us "fixing" everything we did. The trees were always "live." I searched through photo albums and found this picture of my brother, Ted, and sister, Karen, in front of a tree when we lived in Golf Manor. It was our "cowboy" phase. I bet there are a lot of you who grew up in the 50's who remember that time well.

Ted and Karen in front of our tree ca. 1958

Memory #2:

In 1959, we moved to Pleasant Ridge. This was truly the home of our youth. The arrival of Dan in April of 1959 made it nearly impossible for us to continue living in the small three-bedroom Golf Manor home now that we were a family of eight. It was sometime during that period that I'm sure Dad became perfectly happy with relinquishing some of his "tree" duties. It was also during this era that Scotch Pines became the preferred tree in our family. I have numerous pictures of me, my siblings and my cousins, all lined up in birth order, in front of those trees. I was even able to find one of Dad showing off his new robe. (Note Tom in the lower right-hand corner).

Memory #3:

I'm sure that tucked away in my memory are several examples of Christmas trees that I put up with my husband at the time, Bob. I'm sure we enjoyed putting up a tree for Elizabeth's first Christmas. But what I REALLY remember is the Christmas of 1979. I was newly-divorced with a one-year old baby. I was in no mood to celebrate Christmas, but felt I HAD to get it together for Elizabeth. So I took my newly-single self over to the Blue Ash YMCA, bought a live tree, and brought the thing home. (To say I didn't care about it is an understatement). I lived in a second-floor apartment. I tied a rope to the tree, hoisted it up and over the balcony railing and decorated it. I'll never forget the feeling. Having accomplished that, I felt for the first time since my divorce that I would "make it" as a single parent.

Memory #4:

Fast forward about ten years, and I'm now married to Bill. Bill has never had a love of putting up Christmas trees, partly because he could never buy a tree that was the "right one" for his ex-wife. Once he literally brought home three different trees before she was satisfied. Besides, he's Jewish, so he could cop out on this Christmas tradition. Add to that the fact that I am allergic, and I do mean ALLERGIC, to Christmas trees. Decorating the tree always meant long sleeves, gloves and a great deal of itching. I turned into a "witch" -- or you can substitute your own word. About 20 years ago in frustration, I left Liz with Bill and went down to the local "Big Box" store and bought an artificial tree. If you can believe it, I put up the SAME tree today.

Memory #5:

Christmas 2010
Ian was 2 1/2 years old

Christmas 2010, we moved into a new chapter. Liz and her husband, Roland, blessed us with our first grandson. Bill and I pulled out all of the stops. The tree went up and so did the train we bought for Liz 23 years earlier. Anything to make Ian's Christmas special.

Which brings us to Christmas 2012. Oh, how I dreaded putting up the tree. Fake knees and hips don't lend themselves to this kind of activity. I wanted my Dad to "string the lights" one more time.

I've got a new grandson, Andrew, and I want his first Christmas to be special. So I got myself together and put up the tree -- one more time. I'm thinking this year will be the perfect year for Roland and Ian to help Grandpa put the train up -- I'm sure you would agree.

Merry Christmas 2012 to all of my family and friends. 

                                                    Kath

Tom's Birthday -- My Irish Twin

It's Tom's Birthday! It's that time of the year when for three weeks just this side of spring that we are the same age. My mother used to say that we were "Irish twins" -- a term used for siblings born less than 12 months apart. There was no time in my life that I don't remember Tom being a part of it.

In a comment to a post about another family birthday, Tom's daughter, Melissa, asked, "Was my Dad ever a kid?" That's what happens when you are one of the "big kids." All family pictures show you as older than everyone else. So I tried to take up Melissa's challenge and see if I could find pictures of her Dad as a kid.

Tom

The pictures in the collage at the top of the page include one of my favorites of Tom and I sitting on the steps of our Grandmother's house in Wyoming.  The other picture was "clipped" from a family movie.  Tom is parading in on Easter Sunday with his cousins, Chuck and Bill.  I was also able to crop a picture of Tom as a little boy from another family picture.



Dogs were always a part of our growing up.  T-Bone was one of the dogs of our youth.   Here he is pictured with Tim and Tom.

As an adult, Tom has loved and owned horses. Pictured is Tom on a horse on a family vacation to the apple orchard home of the Crowell's in Carbondale, Illinois. Mary Davis Crowell was one of Mom's best childhood friends.

I don't know where to draw the line.  My goal is to share some pictures that I'm sure most of my siblings have never seen.  So let me add a couple more.

I had forgotten that Tim and Tom played on Kiwanis Little League baseball teams. The picture almost looks like everyone was told to stand at attention.

Let me complete this birthday tribute with one of my favorite pictures. Tom has never been able to escape his role as the big brother -- thankfully for all of us, it's been a role he's always played well. I think I can speak for all of us when I say, "Happy birthday, Tom and we LOVE you."

Kath

Ted's 55th Birthday!

Today is my brother Ted's birthday!  He is the 5th of seven children -- but he is the oldest of the three "little kids" in our family.  As mentioned in earlier posts the experiences of the "big kids" are completely different than those of the "little kids."  It's almost like we were not raised in the same family.

Ted was the clear leader of the little kids -- all three were boys.  He kept them in line (or so I hear). Dan and Don need to leave a comment. When "Teddy" was a baby, we idolized him.  We would all sing to him in his baby bed and make him laugh.  We used to have this stupid little song that we made up and would sing. The words were:

Teddydore, Teddydore, always standing by the door . . .
If he hollers let 'em go, he falls down on the floor.

This makes absolutely no sense, but I remember it to this day.  

We lived in our first house in Golf Manor until Ted was three. Here he is pictured celebrating his third birthday.  My mother was already pregnant with child number six.  Within four months of Ted's birthday, the family would have added Dan to the family and moved into a new (to us), bigger home.  

As I write this I was just hit by the fact that my Mom and Dad had to try to market a too small house with five kids when she was VERY pregnant.  In addition, with a six-week old baby they had to pack everything and move. No one got to be "the baby" for long.

Karen, Tim and Ted celebrating his 5th birthday.

Ted is the one standing in the middle.

There were a couple of really "hokey" songs that we used to sing that were on an old 78 RPM record -- google it.  One of them included a version of the "Happy Birthday" song that is sung in our family to this day.  A few years ago, my nephew Mark borrowed the record and digitized it.  So to honor Ted's birthday, I decided to dig up a few "old" pictures to go along with this "old" recording.

Ted -- be sure to check them out.  You may not even be aware that some of these pictures exist.  Happy birthday from all of us.

Links to the photoshows:  Open Your Gifts
                                        Happy Birthday (Jones Version)
Be sure to click to see them "full screen."

December 31st -- Tim's Birthday

Ted, Karen and Tim

When my brother Tim was born on this date in 1951, my father was thrilled -- not because he had his third child and second son in less than three years, but because he arrived in time to provide the family with an additional income tax deduction!  Surely, I kid.

I'm guessing the picture above was probably taken about 1958 or 1959.  By then we also had Karen and Ted in the family.  Cowboy outfits must have been the "in" thing that year if the outfits everyone is wearing are any indication.

What I love most about Tim is the way he thinks.  I may be the family historian from the point of view of collecting and organizing facts on pieces of paper, but Tim will remember every little detail -- especially if it has to do with family cars or certain "records" (remember those?) that he played until there was no vinyl remaining.

He is now the proud father of two, grandfather of two and soon-to-be father-in-law again when his son marries in May.  Happy birthday, Tim -- and here is wishing you many more.

Love,
Kath