LASTING IMPRESSION

The right way to sneak a peek

We had a wonderful childhood growing up in Lockport,

New York. One of the highlights of the year was, of course, Christmas.

The stairs to the living room were right outside our parents’ bedroom door. If we were going to be successful in sneaking down early to peek at the gifts Santa Claus had left us without waking our parents, we had to know exactly where to place our feet. My sister Susan and I would spend weeks practicing going down the staircase so we could locate the squeaky areas on all of the steps.

By the time the big day came, we were ready. We always managed to sneak downstairs without a hitch—although we never knew for certain whether our parents had heard us. If they had, they never said so.

On Christmas Eve in 1946, our parents came into our bedroom to take our picture. Seven-year-old Susan is smiling at our brother Rob, 4, while I look straight at the camera. I was 6 at the time and my mother had carefully wrapped my hair before bed to keep my bobby-pinned curls in place.

Susan and I were wide awake with anticipation but Rob had been sound asleep.

After the photo, Susan and I went back to our bunk beds on the other side of the room and, although filled with excitement, we eventually fell asleep.

On Christmas morning, we followed through with our well-practiced plan, avoiding all the noisy areas as we tiptoed down the stairs to see the presents under the tree and our stockings full of treasures. Oh, did we have fun!

My sister and I would spend weeks practicing going down the staircase.