Ghosts of Christmas Past- 1953

There are some things you can never know. You can put the effort in to being in the other guy's shoes. The fact is you can never really know. My older brother is celebrating his second Christmas. It will also be his last as an only child. Mom is 6 months along and in March I will arrive and ruin the solitude he enjoys. I will never know what it is like to be the only child. To have a Christmas that is not shared with a sibling. There is no bitterness in that statement. It is just the way life works. So, what did Christmas look like for Jay in 1953?

A few things to note in this picture. Jay's first Christmas was celebrated in the big house across the road. Mom and Dad had moved to the farm and Grandma and Grandpa had moved to his mother's former home in Galesburg. My Great Grandmother Emma had passed away in April 1952. Grandma Byrdis wanted to live in town. Grandpa gave it a try but by June of 1953 or so the hired man who lived in the small house was gone, Grandpa had done all of town living he could handle. So Mom, Dad and Jay moved to the house across the road. The house where I grew up. The house where Mom still lives. It also appears from the picture above that Jay was a very active toddler. The Christmas tree seems to be in jail. The toys look like fun. A tricycle, the large stuffed bear, the toy train and the wheeled popper thing.

Your first Christmas doesn't mean much to you. As an infant you have no idea what is going on. It really is a holiday for the new parents. You can see from today's pictures that Jay is really into this Christmas. It is HIS holiday.

Some people like having their picture taken. I think Jay is one of them.

The present opening continues. I spend more time looking at the background of these pictures and seeing the house of my youth. While it has changed in many ways, there is so much that remains the same. Today it is pictures of my older brother and his Christmas. My mind can fast forward to times when my children and grandchild open presents on the same floor.

It makes you wonder how we all didn't end up with ADHD. A bunch of new toys and you want to play with them all. Right now! At the same time! NOW!!!

Every good holiday ends in the kitchen. What is a holiday without a celebratory meal? So it looks like 1953 was a good one for brother Jay. Toys, attention, food, what more could a young boy want? A brother to share it with?