Daun Daemon
The 2020 Christmas Cards
Dear Aunt Jean,
The whole family misses seeing you and hopes you are well. Everyone knows the staff nurses at Sunset Pines take extraordinary care of the residents. I hope to drive the four hours to stand outside your window and wave at you soon.
Dear Bob and Laura,
I heard through the grapevine that you plan to leave California — and move to Arizona of all places! The fires were really frightening, but I’m sure you’ll miss those hills, the wineries, and the house you rebuilt so magnificently after the previous fires. You’re leaving at a good time. Too many people out there are having big parties and running around unmasked.
To my sweet sister and her husband,
Christmas will not be the same without our family gathering this year. Please keep Mama safe — you really shouldn’t let the kids and grandkids come over.
I know our politics often clash, but one thing we can agree on is that we love each other no matter how misguided in thinking we believe the others are. I won’t gloat this year because I recall how I felt four years ago.
xoxo
My cherished BFF,
Thank you so much for the wonderful Advent wines! I know I’m supposed to sample one a day, but I’ve already pulled out a few bottles to “taste test” as I write. (I just finished the card for one of the sisters, so the wee bottles are exactly what I need right now.) We WILL go on our Caribbean vacay next year! Let’s spend time planning all the wonderful future adventures we’ll have and not crying over the ones we missed this year.
To Dr. Shannon and staff at We Care Cat Clinic,
Many purrs to you this holiday season from da boyz: Maximus, Boris, and Dude! All of us miss our sweet Josephine, and we thank you for taking such good care of her at the end. Though February was many months ago, it seems like just yesterday that she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
(← sorry about the wet spots there)
I wish I could drop off a tin of cheese straws this year, as usual, but I understand why you are letting only the kitties come in right now.
Dear students who are no longer my students,
HAhaha. This isn’t a real card but I’m writing it anyway. Wish I could send it. Ha! That was a sentence fragment. MMmmmmmm this pinot noir is really nice. Better than the cabernet. Ooooh . . . the next one is a prosecco. Anyway, I just read my evaluations and want to say thank you to the ones who understood that online classes are JUST AS HARD FOR ME as they are for you. The rest of you seem to think the world revolves are you. It does NOT. Try harder to appreciate what your teachers do and offer CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS not petty diatribes. Oh! nice rose this is. Ha! I just Yoda talked. OMG is that a BAROLO?
Deap Ptraiec,
mY bets freend EVER — thnak you or the vines. Dudes snffffing hte merloo. LOL alreefy wrot youre card!!
ROfl
[cat paw prints tracked from wine]
———————————————————————————
Dear Mama,
I wanted to send you a separate card from the ones I sent everybody else. Isn’t the photo of the sleigh pulled by eight tiny kittens adorable?! I want to come visit, but I’m staying away to make sure you stay healthy. Please wear a mask when the grandkids and great-grandkids visit. I know you want to hug everybody, especially the babies, but you need to stay healthy. Your 89th birthday is just a few months away! If the vaccines work a miracle for us all, I’ll see you then.