Keeping In Touch During the Holidays

I love to get Christmas cards. I love even the ones that are just signed. It seems that some people still want to keep in touch, despite the fact that we have moved away from so many people. Some have a printed letter in them that describes what people have been doing this year. For some people, that is all that they can manage to do to keep in touch. I read them all. Many are here already and I have a pang that they won't get mine "on time."

My own cards are finally just about done. I have written personal notes on many of them. All of them have a photo of Don, Alan and me. I like to get photos so decided to send out one this year. It isn't the best, but it does have all three of us in it and not looking goofy. There are a few more I want to write a note on. These days, I write them in Word and make them personal, to the person or persons individually. Then I add a few words handwritten and our names. I no longer write longhand to many people. My handwriting is small. Many people either don't have their glasses with them, and thus their arms aren't long enough, for far-sighted folks, or the writing is blurry for those of us who are short-sighted. Nearly everyone I write to has glasses of some sort but often they aren't on the person's face. For those people with good eyesight, it can't be any worse to read print and I hope they understand that I can use the keyboard much faster than I can write and it is always legible.

I think I will actually add some people that I don't normally send a Christmas card to. I think that they may enjoy getting a photo of us. If not, they won't have to display it, since I won't be seeing them, and they can round file it. Don and I don't have a large circle of friends and only some relatives like to send cards. We forgive those that don't, and send one to many of them anyway. Everyone is busy, or at least they like to think of themselves as busy. Busyness may keep them from writing, but hopefully we are still in their hearts.