There’s something about the 25th of each month. Ever since I was a kid, something clicked in my brain: Christmas is coming! And today is Christmas in July.

Gary and I packed light for our visit to Connecticut last week, knowing that we’d have plenty of extra stuff to bring back for use in the Too Much Brudders blog. Indeed, Dad had assembled a pile of photos and family keepsakes dating back 100 years.

One of the first photographs to catch my eye was this, from Christmas of 1957.

God bless Mom …

… she gave birth to three of us between May 1955 and May 1958. And from the looks of it, we were all graced with the “Cassidy head*.” That’s Dave in the photo, and he’s just nine months old! (Technically, I’m there, too. I was born five months later. Quit bouncing, Dave!)

*The Cassidy head is an extra-large cranium, inherited from Mom’s side of the family. Those mega skulls appeared in my children, too. We’ve seen them in the next generation, as well. In fact, Dave’s daughter, Becky, has a little fellow named Leo who has a striking resemblance to his big-headed grandpapa!

My brothers probably remember the black couch in that photo. If you pulled the back forward, it would “click,” and then fold down to make a decent-sized bed. Pretty high-tech for those days.

The wall hanging behind the lamp brings back memories, too. It was cloth, with a seashore-critters design. I used to like roll it up into a scroll, just in case I was needed to make a “Hear ye! Hear ye!” announcement at any time.

This photo was taken in Holley*, New York, where we lived for a year or so. Dad was in a management-training program with General Electric and Holley was our last stop before moving to Milford, Connecticut, for a few years.

*Yes, Holley. It’s pronounced just like a sprig of holly. Think of it as sort of a Christmas-typo kind of town.

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