The morning was lovely. I had to be up and about early, early for me, not the rest of the world, and be in Hyannis by nine. When I went outside to leave, my windshield was covered in frost. The air was wonderfully crisp the way a winter morning should be. It wasn’t cold, but there was a chill in the air left over from the nighttime. The sun was just gearing up to warm the day. It’s already 45°.

After my appointment, I did a bit of last-minute shopping. I needed a few small gifts for Colorado as I’m sending their packages tomorrow. Tonight I’ll wrap what I bought then off the boxes will go wending their way westward. I stopped at a couple of more places before I came home, but I saved one for later so Gracie can come for the ride.

I always send Christmas cards. For me, they are a way of staying in touch and of telling people you’re thinking of them during this wonderful season. I buy special cards for my dearest friends and for my sisters. The other cards I send are also special but in their own way as they are cards illustrated by Edward Gorey. They are amazing drawings far different from the usual cards filled with snowmen, holly or trees. The Gorey cards always make me smile, and I think of them as my Christmas trademark.

My mother had a green metal file box with snowflakes all over it. Inside were index cards alphabetically tabbed and other individual cards were filed by name. On each card my mother kept track of the two columns below the name: one was labeled sent and the other received. In those days we got so many cards the mailman came twice, once in the morning and later in the afternoon. We’d take turns opening the cards, and once in a while a card would come for each of us. We were thrilled. My mother would sometimes put those cards in the middle of the tree. They served as decorations and also hid some of the bare spots. The rest of the cards were taped around the inside doorways and around the picture window.

Some of my friends still send cards but it is a dying tradition. I’m saddened by that. I love going to the mailbox and finding the red or green envelopes and knowing I have some cards to open. I  still have a couple from when I was a kid. Those go in the middle of the tree even if there isn’t a bare spot.