The Good Work of Reconnecting - Time for Holiday Cards
- Gibby Ries
- Nov 6
- 2 min read
There's something beautifully old-fashioned and warmly appropriate about calling holiday card writing "work," but that's precisely what it is. It's the satisfyingly good kind of work that feeds your soul.
It's the work of sitting down with your address book (yes, the actual paper one) and remembering people. The college friend who sent you cookies during finals week twenty years ago. The coworker who became a real friend before life pulled you in different directions. The family members scattered across time zones whom you love fiercely but see too rarely.
This is intentional work. Slow work. The kind that makes you pause and think, "How is Sarah doing? Did her mom ever get better? I wonder if they still live in that blue house with the ridiculous shutters."
Sure, you could fire off a group text or post something heartfelt on social media and reach everyone at once. But holiday cards ask for something different. With a card, you write one person's name at a time, think about them specifically, and choose words meant just for them.
It's the work of remembering that relationships require tending, like gardens. A little attention here, a small gesture there, and suddenly something beautiful grows between you and the people who matter - your people.
When you send a holiday card, you're not just sharing news or spreading cheer. You're saying, "despite everything that's happened this year, despite how busy we've all been, despite the miles between us, you're still important to me." That's work worth doing. Work that matters. Work that connects us to something bigger than our daily routines and endless to-do lists.
So, pour yourself something warm, find some beautiful cards (I have a few ideas!), and settle in for the good work of reconnecting. Because in a world that moves too fast, that may seem a little
frightening, taking the time to reach out to the people who matter is the most important work of all.
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