Remembering is fun: Announcing the Christmas Memories project

A few weeks ago, Nicole and I were thinking about past holidays together. We were both pretty certain that 2010 was the first time we had spent Thanksgiving without additional friends or family. I wasn't satisfied with that feeling, though. I wanted to be sure. So, we carefully accounted for each holiday, calling on a variety of resources, including e-mail, blog posts, photos, and even our own memories.

Evan's recent memories post made me think it might be fun to try to do this for earlier years as well. I'm afraid the Juneau Tromble Christmases are not nearly as well documented as the ones in recent years, so it might be tricky, but I'd like to collectively associate specific Christmas memories with specific years. The idea is that our individual memories will spark a collective memory that is richer and more nuanced than anyone's alone, and that the introduction of additional memories will reinforce others that are currently lacking focus or otherwise inaccessible.

Obviously, not everyone who participates on the blog was around for Juneau Tromble Christmases, but many were. And there's no need to be exclusive. I'm sure M, G, and K have specific memories from Kansas Tromble Christmases as well, for instance. But in any case, I dare say there's no time like the present.

I was telling Nicole recently about one Christmas I remember when we got watches for Christmas, and they were displayed on the tree, rather than under it. I distinctly remember thinking at the time that the second hand had disappeared from my watch, although now I have no idea what that was about.

I also remember a much later Christmas when Tanya mentioned that "Gone with the Wind" was going to be on TV later, and I said, "Frankly, I don't give a damn." I remember Uncle Kenny thinking that was funny.

We can start out with comments on this post, or other memories posts, and go from there. If the idea gains traction, I'll probably create a shared document to add some organization. How's that sound?

(I should probably also finish my Trombleganza 2009 write-ups, while it's still fresh.)