What a Life!

As I write this, my Christmas cards are addressed and assembled. They just need return addresses and postage. If you’re waiting for one from me, don’t give up yet.

I love Christmas cards. Yeah, they’re pretty and all, lined up on the bookshelves. But I think what I love most is hearing from people. People I don’t hear from except at Christmas time. People I would love to see all the time but don’t.

My favorite part? Christmas letters. To me, a Christmas card without a letter is a big disappointment. Like a little kid opening a card that contains $100 in twentys and tossing it aside because it is of no apparent value to them. I mean, I appreciate the thought and all. But what I really want to know is how you are doing, how are things going for you, what is happening in your life.

I know some people complain about them as though people are bragging about their year. I rarely see them that way. The people that list all the relatives I don’t know that they visited or came to visit them – that gets a little boring. But the basics of where you live, what you do, and some of the highlights of your year – now that I feast on. In fact, I’m more prone to keep the letters and toss the cards (after they’ve been displayed, of course).

And I love pictures, though they do not replace a Christmas letter. Just saying is all.

Last year, mine did not get sent out at all. Joey had pyloric stenosis. Grandma Hagele died. I was doing laundry on Christmas Eve so we would have clean underwear to wear the next day. This year had it’s own drama, which I do not care to discuss.

But I’m still going to get them out. It’ll be just letters and a picture. But people will still hear from me and maybe I’ll get some back next year. Maybe even with letters in them.

One can always hope…