Mr. Postman

Most of the Christmas cards have been sent.  I have a few hanging around that still need updated addresses, but they will join the others soon.

Christmas cards are one of my favorite things of the Christmas season--going to the mailbox and finding an actual letter is so exhilarating!

I always keep all the cards from the previous year, wadded in a box and still tied on the display garland from the year before.  It brings back all the memories from the last year.

When I reread a few this year, I was struck by how life changes so much in a year.

One card had a grandma, grandpa, all their kids and grandkids.  Their youngest son wasn't married, and this year, just before Christmas, he will marry a girl who grew up less than a quarter mile away.

One card pictured a smiling family with four kids.  Although I know their family as struggles just like everyone, I know this family tries to be happy.  This year, their card was missing a child due to a custody issue with Mom, and their baby daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, so her hair had been trimmed in a preemptive strike against the chemo.

Some cards have new addresses this year, or new babies, or new in-laws.

And some seem to falter then fade as the years go by, leaving me to wonder where they are and what they're up to.

My own card this year was new--only five kids and no letter.  My nest is beginning to empty.  It will be a slow trickle from here on out, luckily.

From all of us here at the Denton Sanatorium