Wednesday, May 07, 2008

A Little Something I Found

I ran across a Christmas letter I sent out in 1999. Every year when my children were young, we'd take the obligatory family photo. I'd try to write a little something about each person and send it off with the photo and Christmas greeting. Somewhere along the way, it became too much. I missed a few years, didn't even get cards out, let alone a photo taken. I tried again in '99. We'd celebrated my inlaws 50th anniversary so we did have a photo. But what was I thinking???

I wrote this post about a Christmas letter from 1970 that my dad found. After sharing it Gretchen had commented "Any chance you'll try to write some new poetry?" This is why I don't:

Twas a few nights before Christmas and all through the house
No one was quiet, Eeek! The cat's got a mouse!
Michael's been working the computer with care
Building a web page for sports everwhere.
The house is a bustle with children and dog,
Two cats, six gerbils, a fish, and a frog.
Christopher's off with lacrosse stick and ball,
This year in high school he played football.
Christina graduated and went to CSU
She's home now, recovering from Mono and flu.
Elisabeth's homeschooled, but still goes to choir,
She's also involved in the youth group, "On Fire."
Sarabeth just finished her part in a play, and
Represented her school in a speech meet one day.
Hilary's in Brownies and loves to run,
Ran the mile in P.E. and won just for fun.
Joanne has to shop and doesn't have time
To be real clever and keep trying to rhyme.
So we send these greetings to all we hold dear,
May your home be filled with holiday cheer.
And may you be blessed by the Father above
Who sent His Son Jesus to show you His Love.



What was I thinking? And why did we take pictures at the very end of the day when nobody looked their best? Oh well, maybe I didn't really send this out. Maybe it was like so many of my other started but never finished projects.

So instead I embarrass myself and post it here.


It's fun to look back. And this my friends, is why you don't read poetry on my blog. So there you have it Gretchen. I guess I did try to write some poetry in my adult years.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG Joanne! That was so cute! I could never hope to be that creative. You are too hard on yourself, that was really great!

I didn't know that you homeschooled any of your children. How long did you do it for Elizabeth?

Great photo too. Pretty cool sneaking a peak into your life. Thanks for sharing!

Dot

~Tammy~ said...

I think it is great! (And you have seen my poetry, so think to yourself: What sort of judge of poetry is she!)

Anyway, I love your posts and check back all the time to see what is new. (or old!)

Kellan said...

I loved that cute poem - it was darling!!! And that picture of your lovely family is beautiful!

I write X-mas letters most years too.

Have a good afternoon - Kellan

mommy to six J's said...

I think that sounded great. Much better than I could ever do. Char

Lori said...

I loved it Joanne! You are talented for sure. You should write some more!!

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me?? That poem is awesome!! It was fun to see the picture too. At first glance it seemed like Christopher looked a lot like Ethan in that picture.

Kristin said...

I love the photo and that poem made me laugh -- so cute! (And cute idea for Christmas letter.) I don't think I'd be able to do it, though.

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I love it, Joanne! What a clever and memorable way to recap a year. Much better than a staid newsletter.

Thanks for humoring me. The picture is a treasure, too. You haven't aged a bit. Your hair may be a different color, but your face is just as beautiful as ever.

Heth said...

Oh how FUN to see an old picture of your family. LOVE it.