BAYOU WORDSMITH: Christmas cards bring mixed emotions

Published 2:00 am Sunday, November 28, 2021

It’s that time of year of mixed emotions which comes around ever so quickly. You’ve just put away the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations it seems, and it’s time to take them out again. We find that as we’ve gotten older, these have become fewer and fewer. The tree, which once tickled the ceiling, is now a four-foot midget on a table. It’s decorated with more precious memories ornaments than expensive glittery ones though; they’re the most valuable to us. And we choose to leave the outdoor lights in their boxes; no more climbing up to the eaves!

What remains is more appreciated because it brings us closer to memories of Santa Claus, gifts that were bought with money carefully put aside in skimpy budgets, and thoughts of dear, old friends.

The half-filled boxes of unused greeting cards sit alongside new, unopened ones picked up at half-off sales last January, giving us a nice selection to choose from, but making the task difficult. In a different stack are the precious ones we’ve received and carefully saved from past years, handwritten to us at the same address for over 40 years, with holiday stamps personally attached.

And the messages these old cards include… That’s the best part! It’s fun to see family photos as the kiddies seem to grow magically from babies to adults. (Yes, we’ve saved all of those, chronologically.) When the card contains an annual Christmas letter, we get an even closer glimpse of what’s been happening: sporting events in which the children have taken part; trips planned, but probably postponed during the quarantine; and, from friends our age, the inevitable health reports.

From the older stacks dating back decades, we carefully open and reread the handwritten messages from loved ones who are no longer with us. It’s as though they had just signed the cards… One can’t help feeling a tear flow. A simple “Love, Daddy” in his own handwriting probably once held a $20 bill which was needed and appreciated at the time.

After my heartwarming review of “Christmas Past”, it’s time to get busy with the task at hand: writing, signing, and addressing the cards on the table before me. Choosing the card that matches the recipient is the first step. Of course, “Santa” cards are selected for the families with young children. I save the glittery ones for those friends who always send us ones with sparkles in gold-lined envelopes.

As difficult as it has become to remain optimistic and cheerful as one gets older, I try to include a few personal messages to each recipient. “We’ve been staying close to home, not travelling as much, but enjoying being near the warm fireplace and feeling lucky to have avoided “The Covid”! Hope this finds you healthy and happy this holiday season.” Adding a smiley face is my attempt at cheeriness.

I have a love-hate relationship with the long, detailed letters that one couple traditionally includes. They let us know how they have been doing, sometimes in great detail, but how much of it is true? How much is bragging? Should it make me happy to know they have risen in the ranks of their local charity, that they won a trip to a glamorous location because of achieving their sales goals, or that their child got his advanced degree from a prestigious college?

I’ll probably save these cards with such details for the last. I’ll just scribble a few words on a miscellaneous wreath-decorated card, signed with the generic signature. “Merry Christmas. The Schexnayders” and wait for this year’s annual report.

But the most cherished will always be those cards filled with real love and memories from dear friends and family far and wide.

JULAINE DEARE SCHEXNAYDER is retired after a varied career in teaching and public relations. Her email address is julaines14@gmail.com.