a Christmas letter! or is it, a Christmas letter?

 



I am just now receiving Christmas cards in the mail. I love this time of year, when more than just ads and bills fill my mailbox. Some of these cards also contain a Christmas letter. For many, it is a way to catch up with those for whom time and distance play a role in not always knowing what has transpired in the past twelve months. For some, it is a letter of vacations taken, what the kids are up to and just how is Aunt Clara doing?

I love these notes and letters. I love them because they are not only informative, but they are like having that person right next to me and we are sharing our lives.

I read an article online today about how people do not like Christmas letters. The reasons varied, from being too braggy, too long, not long enough, too one sided, and on it went. I thought about that one. Yes, some letters tend to brag...but don't we all when we get together at parties and such? Yes, they tend to be one sided, but again, how can you answer someone unless information has been provided to you first? I think that to be remembered in some way is better than to not have received anything at all. In today's high tech world, where a text under 140 characters has replaced conversations, let alone a long letter, anything is welcomed.

My grandmother was a letter writer. I loved her precise script as she filled us in weekly with how folks were in her small town way up north by the Canadian border, what she was up to, who she met, and so on. These were a legacy that is a rarity these days. I wish I had kept those notes. All I have in her handwriting now is a recipe for fruitcake, and I treasure it!

To me, the only disappointment about Christmas cards is the ones that I get that just have a signature. That's it. No "how are you?" no "I sure do miss you!" and no "I love you!" Just a name. Some foresight would be great here. As my mom used to say, "put some thought into it!" when I, at the age of five, was told to write a note back to grandma and all I had written was, 'I am fine. How are you?" I chuckle now, maybe it was those nudges to "put some more thought into it!" that has made me the writer that I am today!

Take a closer look at the cards that you receive. Enjoy them. Appreciate that you were thought of at all. There are so many who take that walk to the mailbox, only to find a bill, maybe an ad or a catalog. Something that is handwritten sure does make the  heart feel good. And I for one, will never complain!!