Kevin's Christmas Memories

Hi Everyone,

This is always a very special time of year when we think of memories past and build new ones for the future.

When I look back on our very first Raccoons show, The Christmas Raccoons, which premiered 45 years ago, I have a mixture of emotions. It was a time when Sally and I were raising a young family. Christmas dinners were big family events – we were a large family and my Mom and Dad always included elderly relatives and friends who had nowhere else to go. We lived in a modest townhouse with a dining table that was reserved for “special” occasions: holiday dinners and a place for my Dad to work in the evenings. Due to the SRO festive Christmas crowd, there was no way that we could all fit at the venerated dining table.

And so, the “Kids Table” was invented. Relegated to an antediluvian folding card table (eventually a ping-pong table), it was situated close by the “Grown-Ups” table, but miles away. Many, many miles!

I remember sitting at the junior table (always the last to get the serving platters), in my early years. It felt like a mortifying experience – after all, I was the oldest! Leader of the pack! Surely, I had earned my place for all the babysitting, diaper changing, and cat-litter duty I had contributed. My Mother would say something like “Go fish! And be thankful for what you have”. Go fish I did.

I was finally saved by the onslaught of more “Gillii” – siblings, cousins, passers-by – more than enough to fill a ping-pong table AND a card table (with a frail leg). Triumphant, I took my seat at the “Grown-Ups” table for my first Christmas. What joy! Hark those angels! Pass the turnip – ooh, it’s still hot! Mmmmm…

And it remained like that for many years.

This Christmas, we will be celebrating with our kids, their partners (new and past), our grandson, cousins and probably some passers-by. Our son and his new bride arrive tonight from New York. He will dance the Hora around the minora with my wife. We will toast the memories and stories of those who sat at the “Grown-Ups” table from years gone by. And yes, I will go and sit at the “Kids Table” as I seek to relive the giggles, riddles, secrets, and fart jokes from those Yuletides past.

A lot has changed since that very first year The Christmas Raccoons aired. But a lot hasn’t. We still decorate our tree – just like Ralph, Melissa and Bert Raccoon did. We go for walks in the snow – sometimes at night! We laugh, we sing, we re-tell funny aunt stories (all true!), we eat and drink well, we hug, we exchange gifts. But most of all, we give thanks to those who went before us and for what we have. In a world where so many suffer and go without, we are a truly blessed family. We are.

Whatever your faith – have a safe and Happy Holiday! And if you know a passer-by with nowhere to go, maybe invite them in.

God bless,

❤️

Kevin