Picture-perfect reminder of family ties
Siblings gather at former family home to re-create 1962 Christmas photo taken by local newspaper
There was always commotion inside the big Spanish Colonial, home to the eight McCabe children, their parents Eileen and Thomas, and the family dog, Lucky.
[...] on this particular evening, the children were dressed in their best clothes as they awaited a photographer from the newspaper.
The photograph appeared on the society page of the Knickerbocker News with the caption, Christmas Scene — Winding ropes of laurel around the stair railing in their home in preparation for a visit from St. Nicholas tonight are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. McCabe.
The guest of honor would choose the destination and the rest of the women would cover her costs.
College-educated, as her mother had been, Eileen McCabe pushed her girls to go to college and wait to get married.
Sometimes, if her bedroom door was ajar, Megan would see her by the side of the bed, praying.
The sisters wonder now what their mother would think of them, and what they became: business owner, lawyer and judge, accountant, doctor, nurse.
The children oohed and aahed over the same things their parents had delighted in — the hiding spots and panel doors, the door in the kitchen wall meant for milk bottles that was large enough for a small child to wriggle through.
Maura and Catherine pointed out the air vent in their bathroom where their brother, Thomas, used to peek through and tease them.
After having their picture taken, the family gathered at Megan's house to drink wine, flip through old photographs and catch up.
Eaton passed around a framed photograph of the sonogram, and the McCabes toasted a new generation.