A Holiday Letter Rant

It’s New Year’s Day. Quiet. I like that.

Tomorrow the last of the Christmas decorations will come down including the tree. Today, however, I sorted through a stack of holiday cards, many with the smiling faces of friends and family. Somehow I hate to discard them, but I will, although some are quite lovely. Several cards included holiday letters, printed on colorful paper and folded neatly inside. It’s the letters I received that have prompted me to write today’s blog.

Holiday letters always have intrigued me, not because I particularly like them; in fact, some are quite bothersome. Many are word processed in the smallest font possible so that the writer is able to include as much detail as possible about the way his or her world had been turning. It’s the detail that is exasperating. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate reading about my friends’ lives, but I don’t need to know everything.

We traveled to – insert country – and had a marvelous time although our luggage was lost, the flight was delayed for five hours, little Johnny vomited three times as we ascended, and someone stole my new Ray Bans right from the top of my head; our dog, Trixie delivered thirteen puppies in the middle of the living room carpet the day before Thanksgiving; poor Al has been itching since mid-May; Janie graduated from high school finally in June (it was questionable); Jimmy, our twenty-year-old, managed to complete his stint at the Ace Trucking School and is now looking for work; our sweet Susie, who is a high school sophomore, avoided a pregnancy scare, thank heavens; I sprained my left ankle and dislocated my left shoulder as a result of launching off the neighbor kids’ trampoline in September; our distant cousins (Jackie, Mack, Paul, Sissy, and Betty) all from Pearl, Mississippi drove their SUV clear across the country to visit for four weeks (probably don’t need to say more); poor Grandpa Albert has gout again and his wife of sixty years, Grandma Ellie lost her front teeth in a tumble off the bed (it hasn’t helped her lisp); beyond all that, the family is carrying on, entertained by our favorite teams – insert name – and the antics of an array of current politicians (not sure how this election year will pan out) that keep Al and me glued to the television most days (the additional twenty pounds hasn’t helped Al’s limp); Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays; only twelve more months before I’ll be writing again. Oh, and Happy New Year.

So, here’s to holiday letters, the good, bad, and the ugly.