Christmas cards, newsletters and the like

As long as we've had children, we've sent a Christmas photo and a letter or a card. I like the opportunity to reflect on our year and share some highlights with 100 of our closest friends and family. I love reading the letters as they pour in during the month of December. Since we have lived in three different states during our married life, we have made many friends, and Christmas letters seems to be our only way of keeping up with many of them. So I do it.

My best friend from high school and college has begun sending a Valentine's letter since Christmas is too hectic for her. In one of those letters, she wrote about loving people; people who loved her, (or sucked it from her as the case may be with two young children), and it was the first letter that I didn't read and say, "Oh that's great. I'm so happy for them. Thanks for catching us up," and then proceed to toss it into our box of cards. I sat and pondered her letter, really thought about ways I can be more loving, give more people the benefit of the doubt, care more genuinely about those around me.

So last year, I decided to go for the non-traditional letter. Here it is:

Dear Family & Friends,

As I sit down to write this end of year letter, I am reminded of all the things we have accomplished as a family and individually. It’s great to have a minute to pause and reflect. I feel like those moments of reflection are few and far between because of our hectic and busy schedules. I wish that weren’t the case.
I love the mornings when we have small visitors to our bed and we can enjoy being together without rushing out the door to work or school. This happened just the other day and we headed off to explore. It was really cold, and we couldn’t find one of child #3's shoes, and child #1 & I didn’t have a proper jackets, but we were able to find some caves to explore that were protected from the wind. And the ground was mostly red sand, so it was soft enough for #3 to walk in, in only a sock (he had a shoe on his other foot). We found caves that we boosted children #1 & #2 into where they threw rocks from their perches. Husband played hide and seek with the older two while I played with #3 in the sand. We drove home, had dinner, family night and everyone went to sleep without protest.
These are the days I wish I could catalog, not to say that the accomplishments aren’t worth mentioning, but the true joys come from the days, hours, minutes when we are present with those we love. When we can see the joy that emerges from #1's face as she sings with her local singing group. Or when I steal a moment and overhear #2 say, “#1, I really like your skirt,” unprovoked and unprompted. Or when #3 wakes up in the morning and just about jumps out of his skin to see me and gives me the biggest hug. There’s nothing better than feeling his little arms around my neck.
As we begin the new year, we will each continue to do things we love (husband will go rock climbing and/or hiking early on Saturday mornings, I will run, cross stitch and read everything I can get my hands on, #1 will continue singing and doing gymnastics, #2 will try his hand at new sports, and #3 will melt everyone’s heart with his sweet personality), and the things we do because we’re human (husband will go work, I will start nursing school, #1 will continue with Kindergarten, #2 will continue in the 3s class, and #3 will still continue to melt everyone’s heart with his sweet personality).
I wish each of you time each day to stop and recognize the beautiful gifts we’re given in the people that surround us. I hope each of us can have times where we’re not running from one thing to the next, and we can take advantage of that time and enjoy the moment.

So when it was time to sit down and compose this year's letter, I read last year's, and just wanted to say "Ditto" and send out the same letter again. I still want to enjoy the people around me. I still hope I can take the time to be present in each moment I have, because I know I won't get them back. I still hope to appreciate the things I have and not take them for granted. Most of all, I wish life would slow down a little, that I didn't feel like I have to rush off to do anything, except play a game with my kids, or read them stories, and still be able to find time to do the things for me, like run, read and cross stitch.

After assembling our cards this year, I didn't have time to come up with a new letter that reflected my feelings while wording them differently. So I didn't send a letter, just a recent photo of our children in a nice card that took a long time to assemble.

Maybe I'll feel a little more creative around, oh maybe, Valentine's day.