Wanderer

Penny, another blogger here at AOL journals, has been sharing her Christmas memories, and I've been reading them. She's actually started a December Challenge to all J-Land journalers to add their traditions and memories. I thought about joining in when it first began in November, however, I haven't had time, what with all the other things I've been writing about.

Her latest entry hooked me, though, and now I'm going to respond. She mentioned a tradition that I have always honored in my home and family, but this year, it has fallen by the way side of life. Time is the culprit. My obligations have commandeered my time, and now it's down to the last few days, and I am prioritizing, and resenting that I have to give up one of my favorite activities at this time of year.

It has nothing to do with cost of postage, either, nor the cost of cards. When I consider that each card sent is really a gift, the cost is never too extravagant. Cards, in my opinion, are more than just a heavy card stock paper with words and pictures. When carefully chosen, when selecting one with the right words and the right image, the card becomes a special message from the heart.

Sending Christmas cards has always been at the top of my list of things to do. The entire process of sending cards takes great time. First, you have to buy them, and several years ago I discovered that beautiful, high quality cards with lovely messages inside could be had at more than half off the original price if you waited until after Christmas to buy them. Of course, you can't use them for this Christmas, but you save them and store them away until the next Christmas. In this way, I can buy the cards I would love to have for myself, and save money.

After you buy the cards, and you have stored them away, you wait until after Thanksgiving the next year. I like to set them out, look at them, reflect on the Christmas messages inside, then get out my address book. Since there is lots of writing to do, the easiest thing for me to do first is to address the envelopes and stamp them. Once I get that done, I make time to be still and quiet, and think about each person or family to whom I am  going to write a note. I seldom just scrawl my name at the end of a printed message, which is why sending Christmas cards takes so much time, and is more like a gift from the heart. I've always enjoyed this quiet time of reflection while writing letters and notes to family and friends I have not seen in years.

Even more than sending cards, I love receiving them. Which is probably why I love sending them because most people will send me a card after they get one from me. Some even send me one before I send one to them... that's really nice.

I love the cards so much, and since they are from family and friends, I save them from year to year. One of my personal favorite things to do at Christmas time is to bring out cards from Christmas' past. There are notes and letters and signatures of people who have left this world, and reading their words of hope, love, and joy, in their own handwriting, often brings tears to my eyes.

The first time I brought out the old cards to see what I had before I threw them out was when I found a card with a handwritten note from my memere Deslauriers. The front of the card looks like a tapestry showing the shepherds coming to Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus in a manger. Inside is a message from my memere, God bless her soul. It says, "From memere who loves youse all Big Steve, small steve". On the back I had written 1985 to remind me of the year she sent it. My memere didn't send many cards or letters in her time, so having this one piece of card with her writing, knowing that she handled it, wrote in it, lovingly placed it in an envelope, and sealed it, sending her love and blessings our way, is a treasure. I bring this treasure out every year, and add to it other treasures: the cards from my high school best friend, Debbie, before she died a few years ago from a brain tumor...  the cards from my youngest sister before she died from traumatic injuries received in a car accident in 1997, and cards from my husband's uncles and aunts who are no longer with us.

I have a particular fondness for cards depicting the Holy Nativity, the Wise Men traveling across the land with the bright Star as their guide; the shepherds adoring the Christ child, and the Madonna and Child images. These always are among the ones I save from year to year. I have over a hundred of them by now, and I attempt to display them in some way in my home. Sometimes I hang them on a wall, or from the fireplace, and one year I even set them into the Christmas tree as decorations. The entire tree was decorated with scenes from the Nativity in ornaments and cards.

This year, I have been robbed of the time to complete this activity. I have not bought the postage yet. I have the cards that I bought after Christmas last year, and they are beautiful, but I've not been granted any free time, except the time I've stolen to make these entries in the journal pages. I suppose I could give up journal writing for a few days to get the cards out.

If you don't hear from me for awhile, I'm probably sending cards!

I'm going to add a picture of my all time favorite Christmas card. I didn't receive it actually, I sent it, but I saved one for myself because the image was too powerful and touching. Don't have time to do it now, so come back later and it will be posted.

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