I love this time of year, there’s just something about Halloween through Epiphany that speaks to my soul. Halloween is just good fun, we get to shed our daily personalities and be what we want for an evening. Then Thanksgiving really is a time for me to reflect on what I’m thankful for and at the heart of that is always my family. I always think about them in a more pressing, way if that makes sense, starting in November and through Advent and into Christmas. The past years of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals tumble through my mind.
I think of how we’ve grown and aged. I remember and re-mourn those we have lost. I delight and rejoice in those we have gained. When Advent comes I love getting out the decorations and ornaments as they bring back old memories to life - as you know from my past writings this is particularly true of my handmade ornaments. But I have another collection that comes out of storage this year that also means a lot to me. My Christmas cards.
You might be asking why Christmas cards. After all, I know a lot of people who just throw them away when Christmas is over. That’s not me.
For me there’s two ways I can easily connect to the past - hearing a person’s voice (which is why I’m still looking for the interview tape of my Grandfather) or seeing their handwriting. Which is why I love my Christmas cards so much!
Every Christmas, I look at the cards my Grandfather gave me. I see his handwriting and I feel his hug. I smell his cologne. I hear his voice, “Ho, Ho, Ho, how’s my Red Head?”
I look through the rest of my cards and see the handwriting of other family members, some no longer with us, of friends, some I haven’t seen in decades because we live so far apart and I smile. Some of the cards are handmade - a present in and of themselves - and I treasure them even more because it’s a talent I don’t possess. So many wonderful memories flooding back. Bittersweet mixed with joy.
But this year it’s dawned on me how badly I’ve taken care of my cards. I’ve allowed the box to get way over stuffed. Cards and envelopes have become separated. I’ve stored the ribbon I hang my cards from in the box and some of the paper is bending to the stress on the ornaments.
So this year I’m making a plan to clean it up.
- Separate the cards that are just decor from the sentimental.
- Reduce the number of decor cards. I have way more than I need to decorate and it’s time to make room for new ones.
- Measure the size of my sentimental cards and order an archival box with some space to grow.
I’m going to give myself some time for this project because I know I’ll be a little slow when it comes to the sentimental cards because I’ll likely want to read them all.
But even then I think it shouldn’t take me more than a couple of hours.
And that time will be so worth it to know that the cards from my parents, my grandparents, my sister, and Ryan’s parents and grandparents are safe, protected, and ready to be passed on to our daughters.