Typically, we save all of the holiday cards that arrive in our mailbox for just one year. The boys love opening them each night and we keep them on display until it is time to pack up the other holiday decorations and Christmas tree ornaments. We then pack them away carefully and look forward to seeing the cards again the next year. After looking through them 12 months later, they are then recycled….even though it hurts a little to do so.
That being the case, I was surprised when my husband brought a large pile of cards down from the attic this year that were actually much older. This stack of cards was from the year 2000. 16 years ago.
16 years, it turns out, is a long time in Christmas Card years. For example, during the Christmas season of the year 2000, we were very recently engaged….but were not married and had no children. We had, in fact, not even sent out Christmas cards that year….but we had received a lot.
Going through that stack of cards ended up being rather bittersweet. A lot had changed. Some for the better, some for worse. Addresses…landscapes….faces….family dynamics….hair color….hair lines….furry friends….and more. Some single friends are now “coupled.” Some couples without children….now have several. Some married friends are now divorced….and some remarried. And, the hardest to discover, some (too many) of the cards were sent by friends and family who have since passed away. Worst of all are the family photos now missing a member….whose void is hard to believe.
Much love to all who are missing someone special this holiday season….and to those who know those voids all too well.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Very well said, thanks Nichole
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Thank you for the Christmas reflection–a good time of year for it, especially as the old year draws to a close–all the years gone by–blessings and losses, and hope for the new one ahead.
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Nicole,
Excellent post and that was pretty regular for many that way I have seen some very special ones put away in the photo album and kept as a family pass down tradition too! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you and you family and friends! 🙂 Dave & Kim 🙂
TEACHING POINT: School is a bit like this. It takes educators twelve years, from grade 1 to grade 12, to patiently prepare learners for the next step. Be grateful to your teachers and your school for all the time and effort that they are putting into you during your school years.
I had great teachers that way formative years and my first grade teacher Ms Ginns lived on Squam Hill did bring me to mom during the holiday season when she caught me standing on Washington street in front of Kenny’s market with the toy plastic badge, plastic Whistle, toy plastic holster my sister bought me for X-mas Gift, directing traffic! My first job and I was could you say I was relieved of duties until older! 🙂 Dave & Kim 🙂
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