First mate's log:
December 16, 1968
Soon it'll be our fifth Christmas on the island and not like what we thought back in January. We were expecting a little wedding for Mr. Brady and Mrs. Martin, and then after the rescue, we thought it'd be a big wedding in California. Now they've already been married a few months, although they're still newlyweds I guess.
And last Christmas, there was no way to shop for anyone, so we made presents for each other. Now, there are too many people on the island and I still don't know the full names of everyone, although I recognize faces from seeing them on the ferry or at the diner or wherever. I'm of course not going to buy 159 gifts, or expect to get 159 gifts, but I have started shopping, at Garst's and at the Blenford Department Store.
The other big change of course is that now we have a little church on the island. I don't go every week but I will definitely be there Christmas Day, which is a Wednesday this year. Mrs. Brady is going to sing a solo for the choir and she's the best singer on the island, now that Ginger is gone. (Ginger still writes to us and she's finished her big comeback movie, which is supposed to be released early next year. I'll definitely go see it when it comes to Blenford.)
Carol Brady's diary:
December 17, 1968
I've lost my voice at the worst possible time! Reverend Alden was going to have me sing a solo in the church choir on Christmas Day. Dr. Howard says it's laryngitis and I must've strained my vocal chords from all my singing practice.
He also says that the best cure is rest, but how can I rest when I have to prepare for Christmas? I haven't finished the shopping or the decorations. Mike says he and Alice will take care of everything, with the children's help, but it's hard for me to be idle, especially when I've felt like I've had too much time on my hands most of my time on the island. Now I finally have something to do but I'm not going to be allowed to do it.
Dr. Howard says laryngitis usually lasts a week but may be as long as two weeks. So I might be well by Christmas, but what if I'm not? It's not just about my singing, although I regret that. This is our first Christmas as a family, and when I adopted the boys last month, I promised myself that I would make this the best Christmas ever.
December 18, 1968
Today the Skipper and I took some of the younger kids and their parents to Blenford after school to see Santa at the Blenford Department Store. Poor Mrs. Brady has laryngitis, so she has to rest for a week or so. Mr. Brady took Bobby and Cindy, but the older kids, even eight-year-old Jan, don't believe in Santa anymore. Still, she and the other three Brady kids (yeah, the adoption went fine last month) went along on the ferry, so that they could help shop on the big island.
I did some last-minute shopping myself, because our runs on Thursday and Friday are too late, and our Monday run is too early for any stores to be open. And then next Tuesday will be Christmas Eve, so we'll skip that day and of course Wednesday. (We took Thanksgiving itself off, but we knew the construction guys would be disappointed if they missed their chance to go over to Blenford that weekend, so we still did the Friday night run.)
It was easy to shop for the Bradys, Alice, and the Skipper, because I know what they all like. My other five gifts were harder. I don't see the Professor that often these days, and I don't know what he needs or wants. I finally decided on compasses, the geometry kind and the geography kind. Then I had to figure out what to get the Howells, which is harder than it used to be, when we were all shipwrecked, because now they have all their wealth back. And their nephew is spoiled and I don't know what I could get him that he'd even like. I ended up getting the three of them gift certificates for the department store.
Mary Ann was the toughest to buy for. We're still good friends but we don't hug or kiss anymore, now that there are so many people on the island and it's harder to get away from everyone for very long. (Even when we talked about Dear Libby, Kalani and Ugundi were around, cleaning up after the lunch rush, although I don't think they understand enough English for the conversation to have made sense to them.) And of course she's very busy with her own business. But I still have feelings for her and I think she still has feelings for me. We just don't talk about it. So I wanted to get her a gift that showed that I like her, but not like a bikini.
I ended up buying her a Julia Child cookbook, because I remember she said that she liked watching Julia's cooking show during our weeks back on the mainland, after the rescue and before our return. The recipes inside are fancier than anything she serves at the diner, but I think she'll enjoy trying them for fun, and I'd be willing to eat whatever she cooks.
December 19, 1968
Cindy told me what she asked Santa for yesterday. I thought it would be accessories for Kitty Karry-All, her favorite doll. My parents bought Kitty for Cindy when we were staying with them. They realized that Marcia and even Jan were now too old for dolls like that, but Cindy, who was a baby when they last saw her, was the perfect age, five, for a baby doll. Kitty has blonde ponytails, a bit like Cindy's but not as curly. Her red dress has patches that also serve as pockets. Cindy, who had only seen homemade dolls, like rag dolls, on the island, fell in love with this plastic creature and she takes Kitty everywhere, even on our honeymoon! When the children came up with pseudonyms for their Dear Libby letters, the letter that Cindy dictated to Marcia was signed "Kitty Karry-All."
But Cindy didn't ask Santa to bring her a Kitty Karry-All feeding-bottle set or a Kitty Karry-All bed. She asked Santa to give me my voice back! I thought this was incredibly sweet and selfless, but Mike is concerned that the mall Santa, who he gave a talking to in the Blenford Department Store's locker room, while Greg and Marcia looked after the younger kids, was building up unrealistic hopes for Cindy. If I'd had my voice, I would've argued that Santa Claus is an unrealistic idea in himself, but I understand Mike's concern.
One amusing side of all this is that when Martha comes over to talk, I just nod my head and let her babble on, and my lack of verbal contribution makes no difference from usual.
December 24, 1968
Even though it's Christmas vacation, the Brady kids are unhappy because it doesn't feel like Christmas with their mom and stepmom still not being able to sing or even talk. Alice told me that the four oldest kids wanted to cancel Christmas but she talked them out of it, since that would make Mrs. Brady feel even worse.
Because the ferry isn't running today and since Mr. Engstrom isn't delivering mail or opening the post office today, I went around to the different houses and gave my friends their presents. (Well, the Skipper's new anchor is wrapped under the pine tree we got from Blenford.) It does feel different this year, in so many ways, including that Christmas used to be a celebration that everyone who lived on the island (well, everyone that we knew about) could go to, and now people are spending it in their separate homes. That's one reason why I'm going to church tomorrow, even if Mrs. Brady probably won't be able to sing. At least I'll be able to see a lot of people on Christmas Day for a couple hours.
December 25, 1968
A Christmas miracle! I woke up singing! And I sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" in church this afternoon, as planned. I wish I'd been able to rehearse more recently, but I think it went OK. Mike of course thought I was wonderful, but he's biased, as are the children, who were beaming up at me. The morning was merry, too, watching the children open their presents. We are all so very lucky, despite our setbacks.
December 30, 1968
Mrs. Brady got her voice back in time to do the church solo after all, and now it's time for me to start thinking about my New Year's resolutions. It's really hard because this was our most surprising year on the island, with the rescue and the return and everything. I guess I'll resolve to try to keep alive what was best about the island in the times before, while getting used to whatever changes happen.
December 31, 1968
What a year this has been! I couldn't have imagined our lives being like this at the end of last year. I hope that we can continue to adjust to the changes, in our family and in our island. I think we can get through it together, and that includes our friends.