Handed Down

Most families have some sort of unique tradition that is handed down from one generation to the next. And I'm not talking about holiday traditions or family recipes. I'm talking about something more unique and unusual. One of the traditions in my family has to do with a sailor suit that belonged to my grandfather (on my mother's side) when he was a boy in the 1920s.

This particular sailor suit has been impeccably preserved. My favorite part about it is the label, which reads, "Jack Tar Togs. Rub 'Em, Tub 'Em, Scrub 'Em. They Come Up Smiling."


Every boy on my mother's side of the family has been photographed in this sailor suit: my grandfather, my uncle Tom, my cousins Rory, Tim, and Peter, my nephew Grayson, and now Elliot. I imagine my cousin Meghann's son Tanner will be next, but he's still too little. My aunt Sandy is in the process of putting together a collection of all of the photos, and I can't wait to see it.

I confess, I had the sailor suit in my possession for more than a year before we photographed Elliot. I was completely overwhelmed by the prospect of getting him to put something unfamiliar on his body and then to sit still in it and hopefully smile. But we promised him Play Doh afterward, and Elliot did an admirable job (especially since we had to tuck the shorts into the elastic of his underwear to hold them up - they were several inches too big!). We managed to get a couple dozen photos in the span of five minutes. Here are some of my favorite shots.





My mother then hand-carried the suit back to Colorado with her (we never ship it or pack it in luggage - it's always accompanied by a chaperone!). My very favorite picture, though not the one that will be used for the compilation, is this in-between poses moment.


You'd never know he was covered in Play Doh and singing Modest Mouse songs at the top of his lungs five minutes later. That's our boy.