Single parent Christmases

Christmas past 1982-1994

My recovery from testicular Cancer was mercifully quick and I started work in Sheffield in March 1982 and my son came along in May. Life seemed to get back to normal and a couple of Christmases came and went. Then just before Christmas 1985 my wife left me and our two children, then aged 2 and a half and 4. That christmas was memorable for mostly the wrong reasons. I had about six weeks to sort child care and deal with the reality of being the primary carer.

Christmas that year was a muted affair though one thing stands out to this day. On Christmas Eve I sat down with two still bemused children and we watched The Snowman together. It was a poignant moment and also brought us close together. For many years afterwards this was a must as christmas approached.

Over the next nine years I determined that Christmas would be a joyous affair and the pictures I have chosen reflect some of those occasions.

On the top left you will see my daughter holding a ginger-haired doll - Rainbow Brite. This was her dearest wish that Christmas. I had searched in vain for it, there were simply none left in the shops. On christmas Eve I was walking up from my office and went past a temporary shop selling all sorts of christmas goods. There standing proudly on its own was an enormous Rainbow Brite, twice the size of the ones I had seen. Christmas was saved and there she is clutching it, which she did for many many months. It made christmas delightful.

I loved these christmasses, thinking of lots of little presents for my kids and enjoying the wonder and the joy of Christmas. The second picture shows an early attempt to do drawings for Father Christmas, proudly displayed in this photo.

It was hard work being a single parent but so rewarding. I would not now swop this period of my life as the primary carer for anything. My kids came to love Christmas just as much as I had as a child. New traditions were created but the essence remained the same. Various members of our family, nearly always my mum and dad, assembled and my kids grew to take part in the games and enjoy it's quirkiness. These were some of the happiest occasions of their young lives and I look back on these years with fond memory.