To me, the holiday season is not the same without sending cards and/or letters to people.
My ideal for many years was to send cards with handwritten notes to everyone on my list, with some people getting customized printed letters.
I’ve modified from that ideal, though, perhaps permanently, as life has gotten more stressful or busy or overwhelming in various ways.
For example, there have been years that I wrote to friends in November rather than December because I couldn’t bear to send a holiday letter that announced the death of a parent. There have been times when other family members have sent out cards to our extended family so I could concentrate on sending cards to my friends.
I send out greetings to people from many decades of my life, going back to high school days, continuing through college, and on through my decades living here. I send cards to people I haven’t seen for forty years. I send cards to people who I haven’t heard from for years and years. (That should have been “whom” but stream of consciousness rules don’t allow for edits!)
Perhaps, there are people who get my greetings and think “Why?” after all this time do I still send out my well wishes and stories of what I and my family are doing these days.
It’s important to me to let you know that I’m thinking about you and wishing you well and honoring the place you had in my life.
Even if you never read what I’ve written or even open the envelope.
I’ll never know.
Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday today is “to me.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/12/08/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-9-2023/
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Joanne Corey 
My sentiments exactly!
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Glad I’m not alone!
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I still enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards, too. Being in the midst of the process, it sometimes feels like a chore. But you have clarified why I do it. Greetings. Thinking of you…. Sending messages of hope and peace.
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Thank you for your message of hope and peace, sentiments that I gratefully return to you. This weekend at church, the homily was about the Holy Land and the desperate need for peace and justice there. I think the circumstances this year are adding to some personal issues that make it particularly poignant to be writing cards this year.
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No, you are not alone. For some rime I did my,cards online but it is simply not the same 🤗
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There is something about receiving greetings in the mail, especially when so much that comes by post these days is bulk mail, not personal.
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Sending love 💜💜
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❤ ❤
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Same! There are those with whom I only connect at the holidays, like friends from elementary school. But it still matters to have than annual touchstone.
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Agreed!
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