Just An Old Christmas Card Tradition

I don't have a lot of Christmas traditions. But this is one that has hung around for a little over 20 years. It's a Christmas card that I first sent my sister back in 1986. The only reason I know that for sure is because I wrote that I was "getting settled and unpacking" when I mailed it the first time. The next recorded date on the card is 1988 and the only move we made before then was in 1986.

For some reason, I got the card back (Marilyn may know the reason), and in 1988 I mailed it back with a heartfelt "Ditto." Over the years the card has made its way hither and yon, from Chile to Mississippi to Tennessee to Maryland, and maybe even a few other places. We haven't managed to write anything earth shattering, but we just keep sending the card back and forth. When it is in my possession, I try to keep it in a safe place (one that I can find) so I won't forget it the next year (which doesn't always work). This year it will be on my bulletin board by my desk. Not only will I remember it, but it will be a happy reminder for me of my sister and the fun we share.

Maybe that's what traditions should really be about. Not about doing something for something's sake, but doing something because it's really meaningful. Doing something that will bring a smile or a laugh just because you're doing it again. Meaningful because it may be only meaningful to you.

It may look like just an old Christmas card, but it's not. It's a link between sisters, between lives, and of love. What better tradition could there be?