25 Dec 2012 – Thru’ the Decades…
For those who grew up celebrating Christmas as a religious reason, this date will mean more to them. For others, it is another holiday, but with the exchange of gifts. Remembering one of the first Christmas with mother and her relatives in the 1950s but the memory is blurred. Mother, clutching her purse and me in a red dress without a hat but with a big smile 🙂
1964 was the saddest Christmas as it was the last Christmas with mother. She was then fighting a losing battle to cancer. Left to right back row: 2nd bro Kwok Kiong, sis Jo, sis-in-law Mable, myself and eldest bro Lawrence who returned from Ireland/Dublin after studying and working overseas since the mid 1950s; mother & father sitting. That was also the last Christmas spent with both parents.
1976 Christmas in Tromsø/Norway where we lived from 1976-1980. Trying to find Christmas pix for this post is rather time-consuming! The colours are fading fast in some of these pix and before long the memory will also fade. Working hard to save pix in a digital format but as for the memory, that’s another story. If possible it is best to forget the sad ones and remember the happy ones 🙂 🙂
1981-82 Christmas on Nesøya/Norway, sad and the most difficult Christmas as our last Christmas together as a family with the children’s father. A brave smile thru’ struggles of depression, desperation and devastation with all the ups and downs of life! But then hopefully we learn to be stronger for every experience, ie the survivor of the fittest!!
1986-87 first Christmas in USA/CA Long Beach.
1988 first Christmas in USA/FL Casselberry with our first colour coordinated tree and gingerbread house baking.
1989 USA/FL Casselberry with the Hustads visiting from Norway.
1990 USA/FL Casselberry with niece Patricia and her friends Priscilla & Jennifer/not in the pix visiting. Still celebrating Christmas at the same place in 1991, 92 & 94. Also the gingerbread houses are looking good with years of practised 🙂 🙂 🙂
1998 SIN Patricia & Albert’s wedding and Christmas.
2006 SIN PatLynn & David’s wedding after the birth of JohnW. The only 2006 Christmas pix found, must check if there are more. This was the last Christmas spent together with May, Linn, Jeff, Katy, Ellie and JohnW. Will see if it is possible to plan one more Christmas together with the whole family before life’s journey reaches its destination!!
2012 Merry Christmas with a Christmas village collection dated from 1968 to present date!
Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store – Dr. Seuss