24 Days of Ornaments: Dec the 5th

This is a tiny book which doesn't open. It is the last remaining ornament from a collection of small children's ornaments sent to us 25-30 years ago from my Australian penpal, Julie. There were small angels and elves and a silver garland wreath among other things. Over the years, they were broken or lost or they just wore out. But this book stays and every year as I pull it (gently now) from the box, I remember Julie and her family.

Once upon a time, before there was email, at Christmas time we would record audio cassette tapes for each other, a device which seems to be universal in a way that DVD movies are not. Before we went to Australia in 2008, I transferred all of her audio tapes to CDs and mailed them to her. Now she also has a recorded diary of her life as a young mother. She can hear her children's voices and listen to her husband's stories as told to people a half-world away.

Merry Christmas, Julie and Wil and Nathan and Sarah.