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Actual 2009 Christmas Letter

I tried to get out of writing the family Christmas letter again this year.  The entire conversation went kind of like this:

Wife: Have you written the Christmas letter yet?

Me: No.

Wife: (no response, just "the look")

Me: (sat down to write the letter)

After 27 years of marriage that's all that needed to be said.  (Some of you are saying, "Come on, Brian.  You could have figured that out after 27 days of marriage!")  In previous years, there have been discussions of "should we write a letter" or "why write a letter" or "there's really nothing to write about this year" or "don't you dare write a letter like the ______ family's letter" or "why don't you write the letter" and many others.  Now it's just, "Write the letter."

In all truthfullness, I dread writing the letter.  My memory is horrible so I can't recall what interesting thing happened back in January.  My wife on the other hand remembers her every thought, word, action, and emotion for the past...well, all her life it seems.  She even remembers most of mine and our kids' thoughts, words, actions, and emotions.  Don't ask me how.

Plus I have to invent ways to make the letter interesting.  Many people despise receiving these holiday ramblings so I usually try to come up with some running gag or funny misdirection to keep the readers wanting to read it or maybe surprise them at the end somehow like The Sixth Sense.

But in the end, I returned to the reason we (my family) write that letter every year.  We can't see, and sometimes fall out of touch, with people we like and even people we love.  The letter is a way to maintain a connection, let them know what we've been up to since they probably have some existing level of interest, and maybe even renew a more consistent connection with these folks.

Stakeholder Communications

It's really part of the communication plan for the project that is our life.  We have plenty of stakeholders who are up to date on everything that happens in our lives, often because they're right there living it with us.  Close friends, immediate family.  They all get immediate status reports and hear all the details of what's happening.

We also have plenty of stakeholders who only get occasional updates from us.  Maybe we see them at church or the kids' school functions or go out to dinner with them once in awhile.  They get less frequent updates and just the details that are most pertinent to the relationship we have established with them.  They also get whatever information is necessary to fill them in on the background of a particular communication.

But some of the people who get our letter don't fall into either of those categories.  They want to know, they want to keep up, they want some level of involvement, but it's not critical.  If we didn't send them the letter, most of them would probably contact us or find a way to get the information they're interested in.  It could be watered down by then, innacurate, or even slanted in a negative way, so it's good for us to keep them in the loop in our own way.  It's good to make sure they get a true and accurate depiction of our "project."

Personal Note to My Readers

I want to thank everyone who has read or subscribed to my blog this year.  I hope I've provided some perspective or information that has been helpful or interesting to you.

I hope each of you has a blessed holiday season and this Christmas is your favorite one of all.

Please say a special prayer tonight for those who have to be away from family or friends over the holidays whether it's business, an illness, or even a war that's the reason.