1975

(Written December, 2006)

On the way home tonight, I was reminded of the 1970s by Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like I Do on a classic rock station. I thought to myself, “Just for one day, I wish I could go back to 1975...”

1975 was the last year that most of my eight siblings still lived under one roof. The house always had a warm, full-up feeling with so many people inhabiting all the rooms, coming and going, doing their various activities...you could hear a violin playing in a downstairs bedroom, classical music on the piano in the living room, songs being sung in three part harmonies...our Sony stereo playing in the basement, or my brother's bass guitar upstairs.

Now, by no means was it a perfect Waltonesque household. Like any family, there was also lots of bickering, stomping up steps, and slamming of doors during arguments…the lesser of which rarely lasting more than a day (well, except for the edges of the dictionary pages which will forever be emblazoned in black ink, "CAROL STINKS" and just below that in pencil "LAURA STINKS!").

More than anything, I remember all the laughter and inside jokes…some of which still surface during a Thanksgiving dinner, family cookout, or sibling group-email.

The house in 1975 was all about food. Enough to feed our small army. There was always a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen around dinner time. (As an adult I thanked my mom for the thousands of meals she cooked day in and day out."Mom, how the HELL did you do it?" I asked her. She grinned, shook her head and replied, "I just did it. It had to be done.")  The dining room table was opened up to its full length with all three table leaves in place, and it was my job to set it immediately after Mr. Rogers was over.

The house was full. That's what I miss. I've never quite taken to living alone ever since. Don't get me wrong, I do relish the solitude when I need it, but often there is just a big void where a family should be (even if it's just one other person). Especially when it comes time to decorate the Christmas tree. That was always a fun team effort, despite all the squabbles and micro-managing among that ensued.

I will really savor Christmas this year, where most of my family (Mom, sibs, nieces and nephews) will gather from all corners of the country, under one roof. It'll only be for one day, but that day will mean the world to me…and I will never take for granted the fact that such strong bonds exist between us all, when there are so many other families in the world that would rather be apart.