I’ve got mixed feelings about Christmas cards.
On one hand, I love reading yearly updates from faraway loved ones. Most of the time, I’m embarrassingly oblivious to developments outside of our immediate kinsfolk — a downside of disentangling myself from social media. So, at the very least, a Christmas card shows me that the sender is alive and healthy. (Or, at least, healthy enough to send mail.)
On the other hand, though, I don’t love receiving Christmas cards, because they remind me of a personal character flaw — that, in general, I don’t send Christmas cards.
This is for several reasons.
Firstly, there’s the cost. Nice cards are expensive, and unfortunately, my aesthetics outpace my budget. So there’s that.
Secondly, we’ve sent out three birth announcements in five years — and that’s practically the rate at which I’d be sending out Christmas cards. So why double-dip?
Thirdly, this blog is [theoretically] chockfull of wit and personal information, so a Christmas card seems utterly superfluous. Instead of reading one hundred words in a single card, why not read one hundred thousand words, over the course of a year? (Kidding — mostly.)
Finally — but most significantly — Christmas cards take time… and especially in this season of parenthood, time is a precious commodity. I mean, I put Bo in Sky Zone socks today because I haven’t done laundry this week. Should I really be devoting several hours to carefully crafting and sending out a Christmas card?
Initially, my answer was, No, of course not. It’s more important that I find Bo’s *other* pair of Sky Zone socks — or maybe even fold the clean clothes in the dryer!
But then, I had a realization. Wait — if I *type out* a Christmas card, then I can kill two birds with one stone!
If you’ve read Be a Milk Donor or To Email Anything Less Than My Best, then you know where I’m going with this. Basically, whenever possible, I want my non-blog-associated writing to do double-duty: both in its original purpose and as a subsequent blog post.
So, here goes: this is the long and unwieldy letter that I’ll be mailing back to this year’s Christmas card senders.
Dear Beloved Friend or Family Member,
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! (Belated, of course.)
We’ve had a blessed 2022 — a year filled with joyful gatherings, exciting firsts, and bittersweet lasts. Here are some of the highlights:
January
One fateful Friday, our decrepit, seventy-year-old Orangeburg sewer main drain clogged again, flooding our basement and launching us into an arduous, multi-month renovation. (Pulling up carpet, replacing drywall, remediating mold, etc.) Borealis (Bo) and Australis (Aza) have loved our subsequent trips to Home Depot, during which they each get to select a free paint chip. (Aza still tries to eat hers, though.)
February
Bo turned four on the 15th and celebrated with a trip to the Denver Aquarium and a German chocolate cake. His favorite gift was a set of Snap Circuits, which has become a perennial source of fun and frustration — for both Bo and Taylor.
March
After months of work, I published The Death of Occidentalis — the story of miscarrying our third child. Additionally, Bo’s preschool finally dropped its mask requirement after Spring Break — although it took more than six months before our son was willing to talk at school. (His confidence in his ability to communicate had been severely bruised by the muffling effect of wearing a face mask.)
April
After keeping it secret for so long, we [publicly] announced our final pregnancy on the 11th — and then welcomed Orientalis (Rhys) on the 21st! He was delivered via a safe and comfortable home birth, and we all immediately adored him.
May
May was a blur. Taylor returned to work as a systems engineer at Terumo BCT; Bo finished up his first year of preschool; Aza adjusted to life as a middle child; and Rhys was shuttled among various appointments for his tongue-tie, which we eventually had released. Meanwhile, I tried to maximize my postpartum healing — you know, in the midst of all that.
June
We made our first out-of-state trip as a family of five — to Florida, to celebrate my grandparents’ sixtieth anniversary. (We were thankful for lots of familial help along the way!) I also coordinated a wedding early in the month — with the babysitting assistance of Taylor and my mother, of course.
July
This was a gloriously low-key month for us. After all the hubbub of the preceding months, we were now grateful for so much unscheduled time together as a family.
August
With little fanfare, Taylor’s company finally launched the Rika Plasma Donation System — the project on which he has worked for over five years. Bo also began pre-K at a wonderful new school — but Aza and Rhys are still home with me. (Aza will hopefully start preschool next year!)
September
The Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff hot air balloon festival has long been one of our most precious traditions — and this year’s event was especially fun because it coincided with a family member’s twenty-first birthday, which of course prompted a big celebration! This month also marked the beginning of the 2022-2023 year for our local chapter of MOPS — for which I am the email gal.
October
With much trepidation, we undertook a ten-day-long roadtrip to Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Well, Rhys and I actually flew, because he isn’t great in the car.) Once there, we visited Taylor’s family and attended a much-anticipated wedding in Madison! Upon returning to Colorado, I did the floral arrangements for a good friend’s baby shower, then quickly brushed up on my face-painting skills — just in time for our church’s Trunk-or-Treat, which Bo and Aza attended as a lion and Elsa, respectively.
November
After cohosting another baby shower, we celebrated Aza’s third birthday on the 6th with a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion. Later that month, my mother watched Bo and Aza so that Taylor, Rhys, and I could be in a friend’s wedding in Mexico: I was a bridesmaid, Rhys was the ring bearer, and Taylor was the flower man (i.e. the bearer of the ring bearer).
December
The rhythm of this month was driven by our Advent practices: commencing each day with a candy ornament, and [more importantly] concluding each day with a biblical story from our Advent Blocks set. The month was also sprinkled with several holiday parties — not to mention Bo’s Christmas program at pre-K, the start of Aza’s ballet lessons, and a trip to the Denver Zoo Lights. We joyfully celebrated the birth of Jesus at our church’s Christmas Eve service — and we now look forward to another year of proclaiming His Lordship, every day!
May your 2023 be blessed by His love and presence!
Best,
Holly, Taylor, Borealis, Australis, and Orientalis
P.S. The best way to keep tabs on us throughout the year is via my blog: www.tryingmybreast.com.