40 Years Ago Today - December 25, 1976

For my first Christmas, I was paid a visit by my grandmother Bertha, and her second husband Merle Yaryan.

There's so much going on in these photos. The shiny-foil pictures on the walls. Dad still has them. The rocking chair. Mom still has it. The sofa. It's so yellow it almost hurts. The old TV. It’s so big, it’s a piece of furniture. The carpet. It really is peanut butter and jelly. The small rocking chair. Dad still has it. The reindeer ornament. Dad still has it.

And there’s other stuff that stands out too. The beads acting as a “door.” The look of sheer exhaustion on my mom’s face. The ever-present farmhouse table and chair set that I have loved since childhood.