I’ve completed another card blitz. I’m not sure I will do the Valentine, St. Patrick, and Easter series in the year 2022. You never know though – life is strange, and I have a tendency to find inspiration in all the oddest places. I would like to pull off Halloween and Thanksgiving cards in 2022.
One thing I have failed to do since I started cranking out greetings is to write my Christmas letter. So tonight, before the ball drops, I will share my year in review letter for the first time in 16 years. Let me start at the beginning of a year that ended up being a little stranger than 2020.
Lifetouch and its parent company, Shutterfly, let go of almost 800 employees nationwide. Our little Salisbury office was notified in late January and 4 of the 6 office staff worked their last day on February 19. I was one of them. You don’t realize how much you love your job until it doesn’t exist anymore. That was the start of the card blitz – after all, I still had free Shutterfly cards to make. Thankfully, COVID restrictions had lightened so this recently unemployed photographer was able to go visiting family in South Carolina with her recently retired boyfriend. We had a great visit in Charleston with his daughter and future son-in-law. Then we got some quality time in with my parents in Bamberg.
Not long after I returned, my old boss reached out to me. She was leaving Lifetouch and thought I would be a good fit to return as a photography supervisor. I said yes and after a stressful interview process, I returned to Lifetouch. This new position is less desk and more photos, so in an ironic twist, I was able to return into a role better suited to me. It was very busy in September and October, and there were moments that I doubted I had what it takes to hire, train, and help new photographers. Sometime in early November, I found myself at my computer and thought “yeah, I can do this.” When I started with Lifetouch in 2015, the exact same thought crossed my mind. As I was setting up my underclass unit for a makeup day at Georgetown Elementary, I realized that I could do it.
Now for the sad news. We lost some amazing people this year. At the Full Moon Salon, we lost Bob and Margaret Ann in the Spring. MA, as we called her, was so effervescent and radiated joy. Bob was one of my favorite customers. Lets pour the coffee for him, extra cream, and raise the mimosa for her, with just a splash.
In the Fall, Zach’s grandmother, Gerry left us and Jimmy’s close friend Rob followed. Zach had already moved to Baltimore and was able to be with the whole Klinglesmith family. In my many conversations with Jimmy, it was comforting to know that we still share a bond that transcends the mere biological connection of our son. It will serve us well as he takes inventory of Rob’s kayaks and puts together the R2D2 legos in honor of Gerry. I know when February rolls around, I will be heartbroken to not receive Gerry and Dan’s late Christmas letter. The world is a little less bright without her.
And now the GOOD NEWS – Welcome to the world Madison Rochelle Foy. Born on August 6, 2021 and was the correct gender, according to her big brother Ray Keith, who called it before she was born. Gary met the grandchildren for the first time early December when we traveled to Long Beach for the Baptism. There is so much joy in a new human joining us in such a hard year of lose.
So you can see – there is no easy way to put all of this in a card. I joined Rhonda on her 75th 5K today. That is a pretty cool way to wrap up our year. Both of us were a little reflective with a dash of sad, and an upset stomach from too many cookies. We both had such hopes for this year and it started off so rocky for her when she was in a major car accident on January 16, 2021. Of course, New Year’s Eve is my anniversary. Every year it rolls around and I cuss at Keith for ruining a perfectly good holiday. This year would have been 14 years. Compounding the sadness of today is knowing that I am his age when he died, that his new grandchildren will never meet him, and over the course of 10 years, he is still deeply missed by everyone.
So Rhonda and I are rounding mile 2.5 (3 for her since her fitbit has her going faster than my apple watch) and I declare that we will not stay in our funk. We will leave funkytown starting tomorrow. She plays Funkytown on her phone and we dance our way back to her house.
As the last of 2021 rolls on, I am still addressing cards, opening a good chocolate wine, cooking up some HelloFresh for Gary and I and signing off with this message to all of you:
With each card I address, I send a well wish to you, a thank you, and a smile. For each one of you mean so much to me. With each name I write, I see you in my mind, as you were when I met you and as you are now. It makes my heart sing. All of you are worth it. My wish to all of us is that we can cross over to 2022, still hopeful and never let that go. If it gets to bad, you can always join me in a sing along of Funkytown . . . . Sing it!
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