Friday, December 12, 2008

Does this Christmas letter make me look old?

I'm currently working on a writing project that is guaranteed to pay me NOTHING but I still find very valuable:  our annual Christmas letter.  I skipped it last year, and I was going to skip it again this year (things have just been way too crazy) but I had a change of heart.  Being military, and 20-somethings, there's been a lot of changes in our lives over the past 12 months, and there's some important folks out there who haven't got a clue (particularly older family members who don't use Facebook and Gtalk and Blogger and Twitter on a regular basis).  Also, one of the things I have promised myself as a military wife is to always make an effort to stay in touch with important people, no matter where the Air Force or life takes us.

But as I started typing the first sentences, it occurred to me: I don't recall ever getting a Christmas *letter* from anyone under the age of 40 or so.  Cards, yes, letters, no.  And maybe my memory is failing me here- it's possible.  But now I'm wondering: does Christmas update letter make me look middle-aged at the ripe old age of 26?

Regardless of the answer to that question, I'm going to send it.  Ever since I could comprehend the written word, reading the Christmas letters coming to my family each day was one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.  As a minister, my dad has always been on a lot of Christmas card lists.  I loved getting updates on even the most obscure of family acquaintances and seeing updated family photos each year.  My parents had friends who I'd never met whose children I watched grow up through Christmas portraits.  Even as an adult, when I go home for Christmas, one of the first things I do, after setting down my luggage and hugging the family, is to gravitate to the tray where all the Christmas letters are deposited and start leafing through them.  It's a tradition that I love.

So, even if it makes me look 20 years older than I am, and makes all my 20-something friends wonder if I've lost it, I'll be sending out a typed Christmas update.  And since I have always loved Christmas cards with an enclosed photo the MOST, I'm planning on sending a picture as well.  In October I hired a local freelance photographer to do some photography for my website (you can see I've finally added the pictures here) and I thought it would be fun to do some couple portraits while we were at it (Justin and I have never had formal pictures together before, outside of our wedding day).  I'm going to let Justin have a say on which picture we send (I'm such a nice wife!) and since I suspect he is not going to choose any of the pictures that I like, I thought I would post a few here.  This is my Christmas card to anyone who reads my blog!

 
 

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