Growing up the first week of December was devoted to helping my Mom write notes and preparing for Christmas Cards. After dinner dishes were washed and put away, Mom would open a box of Christmas cards, laying out pens, blank sheets of stationary, stamps and return address labels to work on cards. My job was to lick and stick the stamps and labels onto the envelopes. After a brief note was handwritten in a card, I would lick and seal the envelope closed. Self sealing stamps and envelopes were unheard of. Several flavors of adhesive could be tasted on my tongue, ranging from minty to glue. I had to get a drink of water to rid my month from the tastes. While I worked pasting the labels and stamps in place, my Mother would select a card for each family, with care. The Madonna and child for Catholics and a secular Santa or snowman for others. She would think for a minute to compose a note to sum up the year. She never used the same note twice. Each note was written with a careful script.
As a lefty, I was never able to master the calligraphy of Mom’s penmanship. I stayed the licker and sticker.
When a box of cards was completed, I would deposed the mail in the large carrier box located across the street. The box had a large hinged door to deposit groups of letters or small packages. The outside of the box had information for pick up time for that day’s mail. Initially, the mail was picked up twice a day. Later, the mail was retrieved on the carrier’s normal route.
Today, I have a large box at the curb, not like the letter size box on my childhood home. The carrier drives a postal vehicle . The Only time I see the carrier is if there is a package too large for the box.
The mail itself has changed. Cards with envelopes has been replaced by folded sheets of heavy weight paper. Postcards with a photo of a family dressed in Christmas garb are selected instead of ornamental greetings. A Christmas letter has replaced the handwritten Holiday note. Some have opted for a email , forgoing the mail altogether.
I still maintain a Christmas card list for the start of my mailing. I no longer write a note but have opted for a Christmas letter of family news from the past year.
I eagerly open each Christmas message and use my Meta A. I. glasses to have the card read to me and the picture described. Then, I hang each piece of Christmas mail on a length of ribbon as a part of the Christmas decor.
I await your Christmas mail, on this snowy winter day.
***. Poem
Candy cane an acrostic
C crooks
A all stripes
N nest in tree
D dangling
Y yummy treats
C children hurry seeking
A among the needles
N neatly hanging
E each child gathers their share
S sweet delights.
carolaspot@aol.com
copyrighted 12/8/25
traveling up and down the blind highway 