As I indicated in a prior post on the 1970's is was a big decade for our family. In 1978 my younger brother David graduated from the University of Illinois. The picture below is David with his proud Mother on the day of his graduation.
In June Carol and I welcomed a second child to our family. Our eldest son Jeremy.
The picture above is Jeremy on November 30, 1978. Remember this chair from a prior post?
So Christmas 1978 saw us living in the Galesburg area and me working at the Mary Davis Home. Carol was working at St. Mary's Hospital. Sometimes we would need a sitter for just about an hour between shifts. I had to be to work some days at 3:00 pm and Carol got off work at 3:30 pm. Not much time to see each other but there were bills to pay and kids to feed.
This is Christmas at my Mom and Dad's house. My Grandmother Byrdis on the left, then Mom, Tamara, my Dad and my older brother Jay. The barn and farm animals were a big hit with our children and grandchildren. The set is still in our house in Illinois.
In the picture above I managed to get part of my face and my fat gut in the picture. Carol is holding Jeremy and Byrdis is looking on. She was a wonderful woman. Always encouraging us and trying to use everyday happenings to teach us something about life.
Somehow in this picture I have managed to hide behind Jay. I was never much on having my picture taken and holidays were no exception to that rule. Tammie spent a lot of time playing with that ball. You had to match the shapes up to get them into the ball. Speaking of matching up shapes. Who thinks those pants Jay is wearing will ever make a fashion comeback?
My brother Jay, his wife Joan and Mom. She always had a busy holiday. Dad wanted a turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It usually fell on Mom to cook the meal. Dad always wanted a mincemeat pie. Something none of the rest of us developed a taste for. I think he liked it because he got the whole pie. One of my favorite memories and I couldn't tell you the year. Joan and Jay hosted Thanksgiving and Joan did a "Martha Stewart" kind of meal. Dad ate his meal but on the way home basically told Mom, "I don't know what the hell that was but it wasn't Thanksgiving dinner." They went out over the weekend and got a turkey and all the trimmings so he could have what he considered a "proper" holiday meal.
This is a better picture of Tamara playing with the farm set. It also looks like she has fenced in a large Mickey Mouse next to the barn.
They finally managed to catch me in a picture. It was an interesting time. I had been at the Mary Davis Home working for a year. I was 24 and we had two children. Carol and I were still learning how to be a married couple. We are still trying to figure out how to be parents. The sad thing about being a parent is that by the time you think you have it figured out your kids are pretty well grown up. You know how to do the parenting they needed 10+ years in the past and not so much what they need then. I think that is the way it will always be. We will be the parents they need 10 years after they needed it. So, there you have Christmas 1978. Since it will appear on Christmas 2015 I want to wish all reading a Merry Christmas and if you have some other tradition Happy Holiday.
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