The Reindeer Sweaters

Looking through a collection of old photographs of my Grandfather, I stumbled across a snapshot of him wearing one of the reindeer sweaters.





I had always assumed that those matching powder blue and white sweaters belonged to my parents first, having seen them in old photos of Mom and Dad as newlyweds. Now I realize that, even then, they were hand-me-downs. They were kept in a box of 'snow clothes' for our occasional winter trips up to the family cabin near Lake Arrowhead. In that collection were old fashioned jackets, mittens, boots, hats and various other bizarre cold weather apparel alien to our warm Southern California lifestyle. When we were up in the mountains, we would dig through the box trying on various articles of clothing, looking for a good fit. During this process, Mom would chatter away about whose boots those had been or whose hat that was and as those histories were recounted, regrettably we paid little attention. We were too keenly focused on colors and styles, fighting over especially interesting items - like the sweaters with the reindeer on them. Being big enough to wear those coveted sweaters, much too large for the little kids, marked our passage into adulthood. Over time, they became itchy and less pliable, much like our aging bodies. They had been worn by a doting father and his lovely daughter, next by a youthful couple unaware that they would one day parent our rowdy brood, then by an older brother and sister who were caretakers for four little sisters, and lastly by twins, who felt that logically the matched set go to them. The reindeer sweaters are long gone - preserved only in an occasional photo. Their woolen fibers have stiffened and crumbled into obscurity, but are forever woven into our collective memories.