I am having serious issues writing our Christmas newsletter this year. For the past several years, we have done our Christmas newsletter in a unique way. We call it “The Toddlertown Gazette”, and it features phony headlines from each month of the year. Here is an example, from 2002 (click the image to enlarge):
Perhaps 2004 was an especially boring year. Nobody was born in our immediate family and I didn’t get pregnant. We didn’t move, go on any exotic vacations, or have any moments that defined the year. I am having trouble remembering what exactly did happen this past year.
I could get out our checkbook and look at the carbon pages to jog my memory. Between February 23rd and March 24th, I wrote eight checks to various doctor offices and the hospital. It must mean that everyone was sick. I wrote six checks to King Soopers, which doesn’t seem like very many, but it doesn’t reflect debit card use. Double the six checks, and add-in two for the heck of it. Apparently we ate well. That leads me to the checks I wrote to Weight Watchers. I will not say how many. The rest of the checkbook reflects even more boring events, but probably the highlight of that particular span of time would be the enormous check Lee wrote to Mighty Muffler. Good times in 2004!
On April 30th, 2004, I wrote a check to Pizza Hut. Oh, the memories!
Still, nothing that is inspiring a good Christmas newsletter.
Looking around the room for inspiration, I can see that sometime during the past year we received new phone books. Does anyone want to hear about them? They are very thick, with a saucy yellow and white motif.
Some may scoff that a family of seven with a dog could possibly have a boring year. I suppose I should characterize it as quiet, rather than boring. Some may scoff that a family of seven with a dog could possibly have a quiet year. But it was. I should be grateful for the quiet nature of this past year because it reflects that nothing terribly bad happened. We ate, we had shelter, we had each other. We celebrated birthdays, went bowling, saw a Fourth of July parade, and some of us embraced going to the potty. Our dog got very ill, but recovered. These aren’t the things of a Christmas newsletter, but it is all I have.
And that is more than enough.
Hope it doesn’t take an evacutation of your house to have a memorable year. I’m hoping to have many to report for us in the future that don’t involve toddler fires.