There was a time when Christmas cards stuffed with hand-written letters and photos would be dutifully mailed off annually to near and dear. These were replaced by an email with a carefully crafted newsletter attachment. You know what I’m talking about – a couple of pages chock full of photos, a bit of bragging about accomplishments, glossing over tragedies, making recipients just a wee bit green with jealousy?

However when you live the other side of the globe from where you grew up, these updates fill more than a few gaps. For example, my spunky and precocious niece turns nine tomorrow – for her entire life she knows only that she has a ‘crazy aunt Carissa’ living in India who pops ‘home’ for a visit every year or so. Not once have we lived in the same place. Let’s just say – I miss a lot! Which makes my sister’s ‘Holiday Missive’ all the more precious. (more…)