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The Narrative Arc

Medium’s best creative nonfiction — memoirs and personal essays. Eclectic, nuanced, entertaining. Follow us, or join our writers’ collective.

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THE NARRATIVE ARC

Christmas Card List Reflects Life’s Changing Chapters

This year I’m carrying on a Christmas tradition

6 min readDec 17, 2024

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This shows handmade Christmas cards on a mantle.
This is a neat way to display Christmas cards.

Should old acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot
In the days of auld lang syne?

Call me sentimental. I still send out Christmas cards, even with the rising cost of postage.

I make it an annual event.

First, I set the scene. Hot cocoa and Christmas music are a must. The TV is turned to the YouTube video of the burning logs in the fireplace. Then, I go through my Christmas card list.

The list made me think about how life changes. Old friends and boyfriends, former coworkers, and those who have passed away. My Christmas card list is a lot different from the one twenty years ago. It’s even changed from last year.

Some of these people I thought would be in my life forever, but we grew apart. As we aged, our lives changed and they melted away like snowflakes.

My friend Cam and I used to hang out every weekend. We took vacations together. Now he has a family. The same is true of my friend Blake. He married and had two daughters and his world centers around…

The Narrative Arc
The Narrative Arc

Published in The Narrative Arc

Medium’s best creative nonfiction — memoirs and personal essays. Eclectic, nuanced, entertaining. Follow us, or join our writers’ collective.

Chevie Hanssler
Chevie Hanssler

Written by Chevie Hanssler

Child of the 70s. Lover of nostalgia. I write memoir and personal essays.

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