For one afternoon, it was a joy see all my brothers and sisters’ and a few of my nieces and and nephews from their respective homes at one time as we met at an agreed time and caught up with one another, among other things.

After we initially logged in to take part in this Zoom chat, we eagerly and happily greeted one another and hurried before order was eventually brought to order, I believe by Owen, who quieted us down and asked each of the kids, starting with Linda to tell everyone a little about what they might’ve done one Christmas. Not surprisingly, I don’t remember much of what was said during this time and here’s why: I was looking around at everyone’s reactions as people spoke and how, no matter who was talking, many of them, nieces and nephews in attendance included, had smiles on their faces. It was as simple as that for me: enjoying one another company.

After we had all shared what we had done for Christmas, there were many recollections of our childhood Christmas’ from a few of my brothers and sisters. Often, they were emotional stories about mom or dad that brought tears to the eyes of many of those listening, myself included. As sad as it sometimes was, I thought it was a beautiful way for most of us-I myself didn’t share any stories or recall any old memories- to think back to the days when things couldn’t have been easy for either mom or dad, but they somehow made our Christmas’ great year after year.

Finally, I want to first tell each of my brothers’, sisters’, nieces and nephews how great it was to see every one of your faces and that, even if it was online, I still had a blast and I love you all, while thanking my brother Kevin for coming up with this great idea and my nephew Max for setting us up so that this could all take place. Happy New Year all!!