PAULINE J. ALAMA • PAUL CUNNEEN • SEAN DENNIS ALAMA CUNNEEN
J. CRICHTON CAT • ROSSI CAT

Christmas 2004

Dear Friends & Relations,

Since Sean said his first word (airplane, or to be exact, “apoo”) in June, he’s become quite a talker, so we decided to let him dictate our Christmas letter -- with interpretation and commentary from the rest of us in between his words of wisdom.

Sean: WHEEL! WHEEL!

Pauline: Another year is rolling around to its conclusion -- and what a roller-coaster year it’s been!

Sean: POOP!

Pauline: At times, the world has seemed to be a real mess.

Sean: FEET! SOCKS! SOCKS!

Paul: Nonetheless, the Red Sox’ feat in the World Series reminds us that hope may prevail even in the most desperate cases.

Sean: LA LA LA!

Pauline: And so, preparing to celebrate this holiday of reborn hope, we are practicing our Christmas carols.

Sean: BABY!

Pauline: Last Christmas was our first one with a baby, and let me tell you, it changed my impression of some of those old familiar Christmas carols, and the whole Christmas story. I sat singing Christmas carols to Sean, then three months old, until “Away in a Manger” started to nag me: “The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes/ But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.” Yeah, right. Why must we picture baby Jesus as some kind of strangely inert baby -- more like a doll than anything alive -- who doesn’t even cry when dragged out of sleep by a bunch of noisy cows? I bet the Away in a Manger Jesus never peed on his swaddling clothes, either. Get real. If you believe in the Incarnation, you have to believe in the mess that goes with it. Motherhood made me think of things from Mary’s point of view in new ways. Did she need to get off the donkey to pee every fifteen minutes on the way to Bethlehem? Were her ankles swollen like cantaloupes? Changing the diapers of the Incarnate Word must really change your concept of God. What did they use for diapers in 4 BC, anyway? As for St. Joseph, he doesn’t come into the Christmas carols much. Poor St. Joseph; he’s just the beard. On the pecking order of Nativity characters, he stands somewhere below the donkey and the sheep.

Sean: BA!

Pauline: Book? Thanks for reminding me. My short story “Home for the Holidays” appears in a new book called Rotten Relations (DAW, December 2004), edited by Denise Little. The book is a collection of stories told from the point of view of the black sheep of the families of well-known characters; mine is told by Santa Claus’s son, Sharp, who’s got a case of adolescent rebellion against his famous dad.

Sean: DADA!

Paul: I’ve had a busy year, too. While Pauline worked, I spent the summer as a full-time daddy, teaching Sean to play ball and wheeling him around town in his stroller. In the fall, I went back to teaching history at St. Peter’s Prep, and Pauline became a full-time mommy.

Sean: HAT! HAT!

Pauline: Yes, I’ve worn many hats this year. Until late August, I was a grant proposal writer at a pediatric center . I’m happy to have only one full-time job now. Now that I’ve ditched the day job, I’m freelancing and working my way back into my favorite role as fiction writer. It also enables me to spend more time with Crichton & Rossi.

Sean: MEE-NOW! EEE-OW! CAT!

Pauline: It’s been interesting to watch the progress of Sean’s relationships with the cats. Rossi has been pursuing a fascinating course of cautious constructive engagement, with intermittent strategic retreats. Crichton, on the other hand, just flees from those little fur-grabbing hands.

Rossi [dragging Sean’s blanket around the floor]: MROWRRRRR (roughly translated: “The young human is still half-feral, but I have made great progress taming him. In time, I believe he will be an excellent pet.”)

Sean: LAH! [pointing at the light]

Pauline: May you joyfully celebrate the light that shines in the darkness, whether in Christmas, Chanukah, or Solstice.

Sean: COOK! COOK! EAT! EAT! EAT!

Paul: I can’t imagine where he got this fixation on food. Anyway, may your feasts be merry.

Sean: HAPPY!

Crichton: PURRRRRRRRR (roughly translated: “Peace on Earth, good will to cats and their two-legged pets.”)

Love to all our family & friends,
The Alama/Cunneen household:
Sean, Paul, Pauline, Crichton, & Rossi