the pondering pomegranate: writing letters

when we lived in St. Andrews, Scotland, for three years in the latter half of the 1970's, my paternal grandmother sent us an airmail letter every week. it was one of those light blue origami sheets which, when folded properly, sealed up as its own envelope. and on the back of every single letter, my grandmother drew a cartoon (see this earlier post about my grandmother's drawings) of the week's events or what she imagined we might be doing far-far away in Scotland. when a group of my Pennsylvania relatives gathered for holidays, these airmail sheets were passed around for a round-robin letter orchestrated by my grandmother.

i come from a long line of letter-writers. my parents kept shoeboxes full of correspondence between my grandmother (my dad's mom) and them - and my grandmother, likewise, kept shoeboxes of letters from her parents and her children. except for the airmail sheets (which she wrote by hand in blue ink), she typed her letters on a big black typewriter that sounded something like this.

i love writing letters. i love receiving letters. i, also, have a high regard for obligation and tradition. (i am the kind of bride who wrote all her 'thank you' notes on her honeymoon. young & foolish was i.) combine those delightful qualities, and voila', you might get The Christmas Letter.

it started out innocently enough. as a way to communicate my warm feelings and a little bit of news with a growing list of recipients and a dwindling amount of free time. i used to write a note in every single Christmas card, which became slightly unwieldy with two young children. so, i tentatively broached the idea of a Christmas letter with my spouse who was justifiable reticent. but striking a precarious balance between humility (him) and blatant self-promotion (me) was achieved, & the first annual letters were stuffed into Christmas cards purchased on sale the year before at Big Lots.

2005
"[Spouse] has to track down the sports page every morning, as S. [2nd grade] now likes to keep up with teams and scores." and "J. [prek] has started to read and really likes to practice writing."

2006
"[I] am wondering how much longer [I] will be taller than S. [age 9] - his shoes are already bigger than [mine]!" and "J. [kindergarten] is very pleased to be heading off to school each morning with his big brother....he is steaming through the Magic Tree House series with great eagerness."

2007
"J. [1st grade] and S. [4th grade] both like keeping track of their favorite sports teams and writing out rankings with wins and losses."

2008
"S's wonderful anarchist AL [advanced learner] teacher...provides a well-rounded education for his students....S. is an awesome three-point shooter and great on defense, too." and "J's newest trick is 'Magic Number'....[he also] loves making fortune cookies with truly horrendous fortunes...and filling his pockets with amazing treasures from the school playground."

2009
"S. [6th grade] takes the bus to and from school....[and] is playing the trumpet, [so] we have enjoyed lots of great music in the house...." and "J. [3rd grade] always has projects going around the house - lots of drawing, story-making, and art projects." "J. and S. are enjoying co-ownership of a guinea pig named Darwin, although poop-detail seems to fall to their mother
rather too often."

2010
(the rise of the short letter)
"J's amazing design projects around the house; S's beautiful trumpet-playing."

2011
(the mostly-photos letter, which also commenced
the emailed letter epoch)
"J. wins a gold medal at Science Olympiad [for a] timed creation of a clay boat which held a record 83 pennies." and "[Spouse] and S. put up a new basketball goal."

2012
"J. [6th grade] is often carrying his trumpet around the house, trying to figure out new tunes." and "S. [9th grade] is about to get his Learner's Permit....and was very pleased to improve his running time [for cross-country] over the XC season."

2013
"J. continues to enjoy learning how to play the piano...and was pleased to be one of a handful of seventh-grade trumpeters selected to play first trumpet." and "S. [achieved] a personal record of [running a] 5K in 20 minutes....and has an eye on studying atmospheric sciences [in college]."

2014
the year of the super-short note & photocard
because you know everything there is to know
and have seen all there is to see
if you are reading this blog.

i've been eyeing photocards for a while. but feel strongly (remember obligation & tradition tendencies) about two things: #1 - i don't want to just see your kids. i mean, they're lovely and all, but i want to see you & be reassured that you are aging just as quickly as i am. and #2 - i want some news. i love seeing a photo of your children in all their finery, but i want to know what great and horrible deeds they have accomplished this past year. and i, especially, want to know what you have done this year.