Meaningful Connection

I was supposed to have my Christmas cards done and sent out by now, but the sad fact is I haven’t even started. This year, there is no adorable Mireles family photo, mostly because we are no longer adorable, but even more so, it’s impossible to get everyone together in the same place at the same time. It also doesn’t help that I’m visually impaired at the moment while recovering from eye surgery (You try getting anything done with an annoying gas bubble floating behind your eye for weeks on end.)

It’s silly that I feel like a failure if I don’t spend hours composing our annual newsletter and then adding a hand written line or two on a Christmas card. Not to mention waiting in line at the post office to purchase all those stamps (I do love a pretty holiday stamp, though—especially those with red birds in trees, or the snowy forest scenes.) Then there’s the cramming everything into envelopes and stuffing them all into the mailbox for the poor mail carrier to pick up. All that work, and probably most folks don’t have the time or interest to sit down and read about what we are all up to—nor do I imagine they even care.

But I’m one of those old-school weirdos that love getting greeting cards and letters in the mail. If you send me a newsletter, I swear that I will read every single line with relish. Then I’ll tape your festive holiday photo/card up on our front entry closet door so I can admire your smiling faces every time I walk into the house.

Being part of the generation that grew up before email and social media, we often had to wait a very long time to hear from someone. Back then, instant gratification wasn’t always the case, so the anticipation became everything. Waiting for that special letter to come in the mail always gave you something exciting to look forward to.

Forty years ago, after I had fallen madly in love with husband after dating him for only three weeks, he left to go back to Mexico for several months. His family home had no phone, so he had to take a bus into Oaxaca City and find a pay phone to call me collect. Let’s just say that for a college student on a limited budget, regular phone calls were out of the question. Instead, we penned love letters to each other. I can still remember the thrill of finding a special green and red striped air mail envelope in my mailbox. I would read his letters over and over, and they made me feel as if I was holding a part of him close to me. After all these years, we still have all the letters we exchanged tucked away in a special box.

The first homemade Christmas card Rene sent me from Oaxaca.

Don’t get me wrong, a holiday message doesn’t always have to be in the form of a tangible letter—I love receiving email greetings as well. I experience immense pleasure reading about what you’ve been up, especially if this is the one interaction we have all year long. Connection, however brief, is still extremely meaningful. I’d much rather think about you once a year than not at all.

Back when the kids were young, they went with their dad on a trip to Oaxaca, while I stayed home for some reason. While on the beach there, they met a couple from South Carolina with whom they shared the cost of a boat tour. Since that meeting, our families have been exchanging Christmas newsletters with them for over 25 years—and I’ve never even met them! Two of their grown children/grandchildren live in Oakland, very near to where my daughter lives.

I believe it’s so valuable for us to keep our connection alive. My hope is that after Christmas, I’ll send out a New Years’ card and newsletter although this year, I make no promises. If you read this post, please know that I loved receiving your greeting, and I will carry the happy thought of you with me during this beautiful holiday season.

I wish you peace and joy into the coming year as well!

And do check your mailbox, as I might come through after all.

A few of Rene’s letters that would make me jump for joy.