Today’s post is an annotated photo journal. I’ve included seven years of personal Christmas pictures with brief descriptions. Readers will discover why I am who I am!  (LOL)  I hope you enjoy walking down memory lane with me! Just click on each picture to get the full effect.

1) Here I am on Daddy’s lap under the Christmas tree at 18 months. I’m still the only child, though my mother, (the ever-ready photographer throughout her entire life), is a couple months pregnant with my sister. It’s obvious now how much I looked like my dad, and do even still.

2) The following year, at 2 ½, I got a Radio Flyer (that’s a red wagon, for the youngsters reading this blog) and roller skates, which in this case, I’m wearing inside the house! So this is how I rolled; no safety helmets in 1956!

 

3) Santa was getting an earful from me in 1957. I’m sure my list was long, but my sister, this being her first time sitting on Santa’s lap, wasn’t too sure about the whole thing. No worries, all my life I’ve talked enough for two.

 

4) Nineteen sixty-two. I was eight. And what did I get for Christmas? A puzzle map of the United States! Is it any wonder I ended up loving US history so much that I taught it for 30 years? Thanks for planting the seed, Santa!

 

5) And in 1964 (thanks to Mom for labeling all these photos), my “biggie” presents were books and a globe! Yep, a reader/writer and world history teacher in the making, no doubt about it. Never underestimate the value of educational “toys.”

 

6) In 1970 I was 16. Those of you who attended my Christmas Plays already know how “The Ultimatum” turned out. And here’s the proof… I’m holding a model car and the key to my actual present—a 1966 Mustang!

 

7) So here I am, 2013, back on Santa’s lap, not asking for a thing this year, just counting my life’s blessings, and the fact that at this point it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever outgrow believing in the true spirit of Christmas. And for that, I am truly grateful.