Christmas 2004 was Aiden’s first Christmas, not that he had a clear idea of what day it was. He only knew that it was a day he had an even bigger audience than usual, more people making faces at him and laughing at (and with) him. There were a whole lot of new things to stick in his mouth, and a bunch of new clothes to drool and spit up on. In other words, it was like every day in his life, only more so.

It wasn’t D.J.’s first or Dakota’s first, but it had to be a little overwhelming for them. The family keeps getting bigger, and they have two homes to unwrap presents in. Santa really gets around, you know. They were at their father’s house last night and this morning. When they came back to us at noon, they had already had a full day, but there was lots more to come.

I’ve seen lots of Christmases over the years, but never one quite like this one. We gathered at Tammy and David’s house, all of us including Cuki. Four generations. An extended family, some of us Greek and some Hungarian, all of us brought together by common bonds. Some of the ties were closer than blood ties could have been.

Gifts were exchanged and a feast was eaten. Stories were told and absent friends remembered. Good feelings were shared all around, and whatever else Christmas means, that’s an important and necessary part of it.

And you’d better believe that the children were overexcited but appropriately appreciative. We bombarded them with things they wanted and things they needed, along with a lot of stuff they probably didn’t want or need. But they were winningly charming throughout the whole ordeal, which is a tribute to the love and patience of the adults guiding them through these early years. That made this one of the best Christmases, even if it wasn’t our first.