esrosedotblog

HOLIDAY LAUNCH

We started up our annual advent calendar on December 1.

We do it every year.

All 24 days.

It is a wooden tree with little hooks.

There are little boxes at the bottom. You open a box and you hang the little ornament inside on the tree. One day at a time.

We have had it for 15-20 years. I don't know.

It came from Lord and Taylor. How long have they been out of business. It is all Macy's now. Sad.

The calendar is kind of worn here and there; tape on the first little window flap.

We have had to replace an ornament or two that got lost in the shuffle.

It is an important ritual.

Not for the holiday so much as for us.

We take turns. Odds and evens.

It is fun.

Even Franklin gets into it. I think he reads the energy and he arrives mid-ornamentation. So far he has not asked for a turn at it.

I think he is happy to just see the pack together.

That is about the holiday for us.

We do send cards.

We got those all done today.

John is mailing them now.

It is our aim to beat everyone else. I think we will make it this year although John has a cousin who now sends Thanksgiving cards instead. Doesn't count in the holday card race.

I always think that this will be the last year we will do the cards but there is a bit of a lift in seeing the names march by and writing them out.

There are only fifty left now.

We don't send cards locally. There would be a couple hundred if we did.

We see the people or not but they are there. We could call.

We send mostly to far distant family and old friends back east who we still exchange with.

It is all based on exchange.

If we get two outs in a row they get cut off the list.

The exchange is the whole point really. Touching someone very lightly.

And then there are the memories as we write the address.

It is a nice thing.

Another thing about the cards is that we get to page through the address book. We never ever delete people from the book.

It is a history.

There are people in there who we haven't seen in decades. Nor do we wish to.

But we met them once. Maybe in St. Croix. Maybe at some other connection.

We read the names. Sometimes we laugh. The stories.

All in all this annual exercise is refreshing. Helping us see who we were and who we are now.

There won't be a lot more. Maybe mince pie on the holiday. The friends who usually come by for the holiday are otherwise engaged this year.

We will see what unfolds.

Oh. That is the tree on Boston Common.

Labels: holidays