"Dog gone I sure miss you folks." So began my favorite Christmas card of this holiday season. Written in a shaky octogenarian’s hand, a friend and former neighbor sent us his holiday wishes.

Today I picked up all of the mail that has accumulated over our holiday travels. It happens this way every year: We come home after the New Year to find all of the Christmas cards, packages and other mail that have accumulated since we left home before Christmas. It is really kind of fun to get them all at once, rather than a few every day over a couple of weeks. And it's like one last gasp of yuletide cheer to remind us that Christmas is really over, and it's time to get back to work. I sat at the table tonight and opened each one, reading the contents and replacing each card in the envelope and the envelope onto the stack so that Stephanie can re-create the experience when she gets home. I felt like a grade-schooler on Valentines day, sifting through the bounty of envelopes and cards. "They love me, they really love me." Thanks for the cards. Seriously, I am grateful for each one.