Innocence of Christmases Past

I wrote today’s post before the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. As I upload the post now, I recognize in sorrow that many families in Newton, CT, will not be able to pose their children under the Christmas tree this year, nor in future years. All the children at Sandy Hook Elementary last Friday, and indeed children everywhere, had their innocence stolen in violence.

We all mourn these losses.

* * * * *

There were standard poses for the pictures my father took as I was growing up. Here’s a Christmas series, with a pose that many families have used since the invention of the flashbulb.

First, my brother and me as pre-schoolers:

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Then, a little older:

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And older still, and in a new home:

72360158-SLD-002-0023 T&M&TreeSierra

The younger children in our family were not photographed as often, but they had their chance to join the celebration:

72360158-SLD-004-0044 4kids&tree

Notice how scrawny our Christmas trees were, even though we lived in the Pacific Northwest.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Find something to smile about through the holidays.

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