Thursday, August 21, 2008

We Three Angels


Caption: "We 3 are really Hood(lums) / But, at this time of year, / We make out like we're angels / And spread the Christmas cheer."

Christmas 1947. My first Christmas. Billy, on my right, was 7, and David, with the blond crew cut, was 5.

I noticed this photograph when I came home this afternoon. I turned on a living room lamp, turned around, and saw this one -- among other family snaps -- on the little table my brother Billy bought for me on eBay. Our happy faces (especially mine) remind me of the little children now in our family -- four of them under five (but not for long).

Every year our parents made our Christmas cards, at least until Mother died in 1963. Most often, Daddy would design the card, and Mother would write it. On this treasured photograph I'm certain Daddy took and probably even printed, Mother has written the caption in red ink. This beautiful card is one of the few things I still have that brings my parents together in a palpable way that feels like family.

Childhood was a grand time when everything ahead seemed magic beyond belief. I loved my childhood, and I love my brothers and parents.

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