My First Christmas — December 1952
I was born on December 21, 1952, only four days before Christmas. In my baby book, my mother recorded my first holiday with one brief sentence: “Spent in hospital—4 days after birth.”
At that time, it was customary for a mother and newborn to remain in the hospital for several days following delivery. There was no expectation that we would be discharged within a day or two, as often happens today. My mother and I therefore spent Christmas Day in the hospital together.
On December 26, she brought me home for the first time. Waiting there were my older siblings, Joyce and Tom, ready to meet the newest member of the family. A photograph captures that introduction, with my mother holding me as they gathered nearby and studied the baby who had arrived during Christmas week.
I could not have remembered that first Christmas or the day I came home, but my mother preserved the moment for me. Her handwritten entry and the family photograph record the beginning of my place within a home and family that had already been growing before I arrived.
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