I'm Going to Sit Right Down and Write C a Letter




   The commercialization of Christmas has finally got to me. I'm tired of seeing ads for the perfect present. Tired of watching people crowd malls looking for the best deal on the hottest thing. Tired of hearing about a certain store who had a data breach.
  The truth is I've been tired of it for several years now. I've had less and less time to go out and shop and no idea of what people want. Mostly it seems people want money or gift cards. The whole wrap it in paper and watch as someone unwraps it is out the window. Now it is just hand over the cash or gift card and hope the person doesn't look at and say, "That's it?!" No fun.
  C and I have been asking each other what we want for Christmas. Neither of us really wants anything. We have enough clothes. We have enough books, music, towels, blankets and kitchen items. I don't need another hat and C doesn't need another tie. Even if I had time to shop I just wouldn't know what to get him. He doesn't wear French cuffs so I can't get him cufflinks. He just got a new wallet. His coat is still in good shape. He doesn't need gloves or mittens and he's still learning how to use the lenses that we bought with his new camera. He's not ready for new ones yet.
   I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. It doesn't feel right to not exchange some token of some sort on Christmas. Then it hit me. How about a letter?
  A letter.... It seems a little strange to write a letter to a person who lives with you, but I think it is the perfect thing to do. We could each write a letter to each other. It could be a love letter. It could be a letter that sums up the year. It could be a letter of congratulations, encouragement, praise, anything really. (anything positive that is...)
  I can see it now. We sit in the living room. Yule Log is on TV. We have Christmas music on the CD player. The tree lights are on. We have NORAD Santa Tracker on the laptop. We each exchange letters and read them out loud to each other. Then we take the letters and save them. We can take out a letter or two from another year and read it. We can see how far we've come. We can smile over things we've done. We can laugh at what we each wrote.
  I think it is the best thing to do. It doesn't cost any money, but does take something which is much more precious, time. It is totally in keeping with the true spirit of Christmas. It brings back the real reason why people used to give presents at this time of year.
   So, forgive me if this column is a bit shorter than usual. I'm going to sit right down and write C a letter.......
Merry Christmas
from
C, Sophie, Scamp and Colby
 

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