Some of you probably aren't old enough to get those. But once you know folks with families, you start getting more and more of them.

Some people don't like them. They consider them rude. I, however, think that they may be the last link holding old friends together. Even if we don't write often, we still care about each other. Some of us would move mountains to help if there were something to do.

So, in my mind Christmas newsletters are a side effect of the mobility of our society. And while I am not too fond of friends moving away or my moving away from friends, at least they aren't “lost.”

I've gotten three newsletters this week. One only had pictures, but I can't believe how much the kids have grown! One was an email newsletter, which was well-written. I enjoyed that. And one was a newsletter with the family picture Christmas card. I actually have a separate photo album for Christmas pictures, so that I can see how folks change each year and make sure that I haven't permanently lost touch with anyone.