My cousin Rudy and I around 1962 or 63 in Germany. Obviously, we were not quite ready to jump into the photo frenzy that ensues on Christmas morn! Please, please can we open our gifts? 
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum...looking happier! We lived in a very small apartment in Hohenfels, Germany hence the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Childhood times spent in Germany with relatives was the best part of my childhood! I felt very loved and a part of a larger albeit small community. As a child, I always felt a little bit odd living in the United States...even as a U.S. citizen and an adult I often long for a return to that simpler time in Germany. I love my life with my family and have spent my entire adult life living in South Carolina. Life is Good! Sometimes that longing just creeps in...so I look at old photos, we call my aunt overseas and eat lebkuchen! Frohe Weinachten Ya'llP.S. As I was looking at this photo I noticed a child sized ironing board...my mother ironed my dad's boxers, t shirts and handkerchiefs and I guess she was trying to get me off to the right start...PLEASE...I try not to buy something if it requires more than a good shake out of the dryer!!!
