A stolen Christmas memory

A blogging pal brought up the subject of Christmas letters and it stirred a memory. You'll just have to get used to me copycatting the ideas of others - my life is just not that interesting! Anyhoooo . . . .

We had this relative, my Dad's cousin, whom I'll call Alene because that's her name. Alene wrote the flat-out BEST Christmas letters! She would give a complete run-down of all the surgeries, hospitalizations, and ailments to be found in our extended family. Of course she never intended it as humorous material, but being a rather sarcastic family we found them hysterical.

And she would NEVER disappoint. One year she told of a relative who had a brain scan, but they found "nothing". In the days after my father's emergency bypass, she send a card saying she'd really like to visit but she's recovering from retinal detachment surgery. Dad couldn't stop laughing, which of course was quite painful given that he had multiple large staples holding his entire chest together. This of course made us laugh even harder. I'm telling you, we enjoy good comedy.

My youngest sister finally gave Alene's letter it's name: Merry Christmas but I Broke My Arm

Well one year, perhaps 1980, the letter didn't arrive, and it didn't arrive, and it didn't arrive. It was looking like a sad year in the Christmas letter department. Christmas Eve found us all snuggled cozily at my folks' house while a beautiful snow fell outside. "Ding-Dong" went the front door and there were our long-time neighbors stopping by for a quick holiday greeting. They also brought a white envelope and stated "this came in our mailbox by mistake, but it's addressed to you".

Yes friends it was the Merry Christmas But I Broke My Arm letter. And it was a beauty. Nothing could have been a happier sight on that Christmas Eve.

And we all lived happily ever after - God Bless Us, Everyone.