Hello, My Name is Susan

… cards.  I love to receive them, I love to send them (after they are all finished of course.  I have a hard time w/ the whole finishing them as my family can attest.)  Here’s the thing though.  I have quite a few cause I’ve saved them for years.  Every once in awhile when I was younger I’d purge them.  Now?  I can’t quite do it.  Well, I did get rid of the ones from people Hubby worked w/ or from his employer.  Didn’t see much sense in keeping them.  But I can’t get rid of them all.  Ya know?

This is a few I pulled out earlier when I was doing the decorating.  Of the house that is.  It’s only a few but it’s some I feel like I have to keep.

Here’s why.  This one is from my sister & bil.  Well, actually she’s Hubby’s sister but she’s more like my 5th sister (I was born into a family of 5 girls remember).  I think this was from their 1st trip to Hawaii.  I just love the colors & how cute Santa is.  I can’t part w/ this one!

This one is too darling for words.  It’s a photo of my friend’s then babies (they’re now 8 & 5.5) but in this photo both are sobbing their eyes out.  The caption @ the top reads “Let there be peace on Earth & let it begin with us”.  Makes me laugh every time!

Or how about this one?  How do I get rid of this one that my darling then 88 yr old Grandma wrote in?  It’s one of the last ones that she wrote something in.  These days she just signs her name because it’s too hard to see plus all of the writing for her family & friends is just too much.  I think that one’ll be a keeper for the rest of my days.

This one came from my mil a few years ago.  It’s a pretty old card that I would imagine she found @ a thrift store.  I really love the old fashionedness (I don’t think that’s a word but bear w/ me here) of this one.  It just speaks to me about how Christmas is supposed to be not about the fancy gifts but rather about Christ & what we can do for others.  Pretty odd since she’s not someone I associate w/ church or anything but there you go.

These next two are from my cousin & her mom (yes, that would be my aunt).  I think they’re both from the same year.  I love how coordinated the two of them are.  I’m sure they bought their cards & then showed them to each other & busted up laughing @ how alike the two of them are.

Ones like this always make me go all mushy inside.  Not because one of my children did it but because I can see in my mind the little girl sitting on her daddy’s lap while he wrote out cards.  She was just helping & I can’t help but love it.

So you see my dilemma?  Which would I get rid of?  I have so many more that are like that.  The ones from my single uncles (I know this pains both of them dearly to write out cards & yet they do it), cards from my sisters & their families, ones from dear friends, some from happy couples that are no more whether through divorce or death.

I love the photo cards & the letter cards.  I’m amazed @ how creative people are when putting together their letters.  (we tried to be funny this year but neither one of us really had it down I think.  Oh well, there’s always next year, eh?)  Plus there are the cards that someone spent so much time making.  Putting together the papers in just the right style to create quite literally a work of art.

I guess I’ll just keep some of these forever.  I know that I could take pix & keep them & then not worry about the clutter but, I love to go back & hold them & touch them & read them.  I love seeing the marks from the children so clearly on the card.  I love seeing my loved ones handwriting & imagining them all still here w/ us.  For me a card is much more than just a piece of paper.  It’s sometimes just plain love.