The Missing Christmas Cards

Looking for misplaced items in the house.

Most things in our home “have a place” but occasionally it will take me awhile to notice something is missing.

Like recently after reading that a favorite quote of Mr. Rogers is from The Little Prince — “L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux” — (What’s essential is invisible to the eye), I remembered how much I love that book and thought I should read it to my children, ages 10 and 7.

But it was not located on my shelf, in alphabetical order as it should have been. No need to panic; I have books stored all over the house and sometimes by genre or aesthetic on a particular shelf. I quickly located my copy of The Little Prince, worn from having read it so many times.

Recently though, the Christmas Cards were another story.

Every year since my husband and I were married, going back to 2006, I have sent out Christmas Cards. When the season is over, I take the card, punch in two holes, and add them to rings to create a “flip book” of our family Christmas Cards. They are stored in a black-and-white wooden box in the basement, which is also where the kids sleep.

I went to retrieve the cards, thinking I might like to look through them. The family photos have had a variety of photographers and locations over…