January 31, 2020

White Dog laughed as I sighed and picked up the stack of holiday cards from the coffee table. "Momma, we are WELL past any counting of the holiday season, in fact we are coming up on a NEW holiday. It is time to retire the Christmas spirit." There was snickering behind her from the others as I went through the stack one-by-one.

"Go ahead, tie a ribbon around them and put them in your filing cabinet like you do every year," WD pressed. "I don't know why you save them. It is not like you go back and reread them."

I looked at her and the others. "How do YOU know? Each of these cards represents a friend, someones we love. This is a bit of them I can't just toss them in the trash where the old salad will land on them and they will get chewed up in the trash collecting truck."

"Do you mean you keep the cards from EVERY year," Zso asked incredulously. "For how many years does that go back?"

"In college dad and I and our friends had lots of talent and no money so we all did handmade cards. In a way it was kind of a competition but without rivalry. I still have those cards and every year since."

"OMD! That is like 200 years, isn't it?" Pearl gasped. "Some of those cards might be worth money."

"To me, they are worth more than money. They embody love and time."

Only Tiz quietly followed me in the wheelchair to the file cabinet. He pushed his head into my lap. "I get it, momma."