The Christmas Letter
Kim and I have sent out a Christmas letter for as long as we have been together. I have never shared it on the web so this is a first. If you happen to be one of those folks who got one of these in the mail, make sure you drop to the bottom and read the follow up to the letter.
Christmas 2016
The Grinches Who Tried To Steal My Christmas
On the 16th of December, with Christmas Eve just eight short days away, my good friend from childhood, Matt, called me to see how I was doing. Towards the end of the conversation he asked:
“Well I guess we should be getting your Christmas letter soon?”
“Man,” I said, “I haven’t even written it yet. With everything that’s been going on I haven’t felt like it.”
Since the first Christmas that Kim and I spent together, we’ve been committed to always making Christmas special. We created new traditions as a new family. Even when it seemed like it would be impossible to enjoy even a moment of Christmas, like the Christmas of 2002, we did everything we could to make it enjoyable. And it was memorable, as were the rest.
But let’s face it sometimes life throws you a few curve balls. On top of that, kids grow up, have their own families, and begin to start their own traditions.
And the next thing you know, you are taking down all those boxes and containers with Christmas decorations, taking a look inside, then putting the lids back on and taking them back up to the attic.
Because this is the year you decide to make Christmas simpler and only put up a few decorations. You leave that big artificial tree that needed to be assembled and disassembled in the box; and you put up a real tree that you can throw out on the curb right after Christmas.
And instead of the elaborate outside lighting scheme you have traditionally done with the LED lights you bought from Sam’s Club and the iron tripod garden thingies you made to look like Christmas trees; you opt to just purchase a laser projection light so that you can project on the side of your garage with hardly any set up time or effort.
Then you come home one evening to find the reason that your new laser projector isn’t working properly is that there is no longer a new laser projection light at the end of your extension cord! Because, just like in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, someone has stolen your Christmas decorations!
Then you laugh to yourself as you realize that this is just the perfect event to cap off an already less than perfect Christmas.
And let’s be real here, there is a point where your now 28, 30, and 34 year old daughters have got to be sick of wearing the matching Christmas pajamas you have made them wear the last 16 or so years.
Yeah that’s right, what’s the point?
Maybe you shouldn’t write that Christmas letter…who is going to want to read about what a lousy Christmas season you are having anyway?
Then…from out of the blue…
You get a call from a member of your church family who just decided on his way home from work to call you to see how things were going.
Then the next week you get a call from that good childhood friend who also just wanted to see how you were doing.
And on top of that, you get that call while driving home after having just finished your second week of your new job.
Then once at home, you take a good look at the Christmas photo on your new Christmas cards that just got delivered the evening before because you didn’t feel like ordering them either.
And you see your three daughters all grown up and how beautiful they are;
And that you now have a son-in-law in the photo too;
And you see their kids…your grandchildren.
And you see your wife and how timelessly beautiful she is…
And you realize just how lucky you are:
To have friends who care enough about you to call;
To have a new work family;
To have beautiful daughters who have grown up and have started to build their own families;
To have a son in heaven waiting;
To have two wonderful grandsons and maybe a new granddaughter next July;
And last but not least,
To know that you were lucky to meet and marry a woman who you still think was an angel sent from heaven.
And all of a sudden you realize that maybe those Grinches didn’t steal your Christmas after all.
Maybe that person who took your new laser projector needed it more than you did and right now it is projecting on the front of his house with his beautiful children inside warm and making their own memories.
And you helped make that happen.
Yeah that’s right, maybe this Christmas is going to be just as memorable as all the rest that you have celebrated.
Because maybe you really do have “So Much to Be Thankful for This Holiday Season” after all, like your card says!
And maybe it was YOU who was the Grinch all along!
So, from ME and the rest of my beautiful family, we hope your Christmas is just as memorable as ours.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Kim, Curt, Savannah, Cameron, Hayley, Alexa, Namaan, Christian, and Donny too!
PS: Thanks to my friend Matt for providing the inspiration and kick I needed to write my Christmas letter; and thanks to Jesus for the rest.
(End of Letter)
Follow up:
I tried to mail most of our cards and letters out on Sunday the 18th. On Thursday evening I was sitting on the couch reading while Kim was finishing up some work when the doorbell rang twice very quickly. Thinking it was the UPS guy I walked to the front door and peeked out the window expecting to see the UPS truck idling in the street out front but when I saw no truck I realized someone must actually be at the door. I opened the door to find no one on the porch, but there was wrapped gift sitting squarely at the top of the steps. I went out on the porch and retrieved the gift, giving one more look around the yard and down the street, seeing no one I went back in explained what had just happened to Kim.
I unwrapped the gift to find someone had gifted us a new laser light.
With a brief moment of winkage, I thought to myself how amazing it was that the spirit of this Christmas continues.
I don’t know who out there made that thoughtful gesture but if you happen to be reading this, I thank you.
I set the new light up yesterday in the front yard. But this time I thought I would make it a little harder to steal by attaching it to a cinder block with a heavy gauge bicycle lock.
It surely has been a memorable Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all!
