Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

It was Christmas 2005 when I composed our first holiday newsletter. Up until that point we had always shared holiday photo cards of the kids. And although sending various themed pictures was a definite highlight of the season (I still love picture cards!) it wasn’t until I had something so searing, so imperative to say, that I put pen to paper and composed my first holiday love note to our family and friends who had been so pivotal throughout our family’s journey that year.

That thing burning a hole through me was Thank You.

2005 was our first Christmas following Dom’s cancer diagnosis.  It was the Christmas that our holiday took on a whole new sheen. We were swimming in a sleigh full of gratitude for loads of reasons, and I just couldn’t keep those feelings to myself. Dom was now four months in remission, and the memory of our holiday from just one short year before was a memory that served us much like the ghost of Christmas past had served Mr. Scrooge. What a difference a year makes.

I was like a kid at Christmas when we put together this letter that displayed snapshots from the year that taught us to appreciate even the tiniest moments of life. Up until then, our cards displayed the kids beautifully dressed, all matchy-matchy, in front of roaring fires, or on mountaintops – well composed, deliberate photos… until now. The pictures we chose for this newsletter told a different story – they were pictures that I suppose if someone didn’t know better, might think didn’t appear to be Christmas card worthy…nothing obviously catching about these pictures – heck, my hair was blowing in my face and covering my eyes, but it was a picture of the last date that Dom and I had before he’d be starting his treatment. This picture captured us in a moment where everything was (still) just as we had always known it. A picture that displays us on the threshold of growing up and moving forward in a way we could have never imagined. And the photos of the kids – everyday photos – are, to this day, my favorites.

I’ve always loved receiving holiday newsletters. I appreciate when folks take the time to share their stories and let me into their world ~ that’s quite a gift. Whether it be through the use of humor, or timelines, the sharing of milestones, or poems, I love knowing what people are doing. Maybe it’s the counselor in me? I love peoples’ stories. I’m thrilled when folks are inclined to share their good stuff… the stuff that makes them happy or proud or moved or giddy or thankful… I don’t think we tell enough of these stories. They are important. They teach and they move us along.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love every card that we receive; however, if it were up to me, I might recommend that everyone share one little story from their year, one little anecdote that put a smile on their face, because that one smile could start a chain reaction of many, many smiles…

 

 

So here we are, 2013, and this post will serve as my holiday newsletter.

 

Like every year, 2013 will be a year to remember. Along with the excitement of watching our children grow, we have experienced immeasurable gratitude for the everyday gift of life.

Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

See you next week…

Buon Natale!