Thursday 5 December 2013

A very special christmas card from Canada

Shimelle always includes a christmas card prompt in 'Journal your Christmas'....and I always include one of my handmade cards in my album.
This year I'm going to include one that I made for Sarah's 'six on the sixth' challenge.....that seems the most apt.
Shimelle suggested we think about christmas card memories......and that brought back a big memory to me......I don't remember much about the cards we got when I was a child......I think cards weren't a big thing back then......they were only given to people you didn't regularly see.....but there is one card I do remember......because it arrived every year from Canada.......the only card we got from overseas.
It came to my mum from Johnny Fontaine [even his name sounded exotic to me as a child]......a Canadian serviceman she'd met in London during the war.....the cards usually contained photos of his family with brief updates on his life......and the cards she sent to him contained the same......their friendship was enduring.....they exchanged cards for fifty years.....she was in her 70s when she finally stopped receiving them......she was very sad and felt sure that he must have passed away.
[mum-in her early 20s]
I think I met him once as a child.....and definately once as an adult......when they were both in their early sixties...,,.he literally phoned her out of the blue to say he was in London on business and could they meet up.....I joined them for lunch and they chatted and laughed together.....you could almost see the years falling away from them......totally at ease.....as though it were days since they'd last met......rather than many years.
Of course....this story should have been told on Storytelling Sunday.....but I'm so glad that today Shimelle jogged that memory for me.

14 comments:

Maria Ontiveros said...

Oh my gosh - what a lovely story. I'm so glad you wrote it down.
My Christmas card story would be cleaning out my Aunt Vera's house and few years ago (she passed away well into her 90's) and finding that she had saved every Christmas card I ever sent her. It really touched me.
Rinda

Melissa said...

What a fantastic story & a wonderful enduring friendship. Reminds me of the cards we used to get from the hitchhiker . . . . I must tell that story soon.

Sandie said...

what a lovely story, and that this friendship continued for so many years

alexa said...

This is really moving - isn't it wonderful how their connection was so enduring? That is a very pretty young Mum you have there too :).

debs14 said...

What a lovely story, and how lovely that they maintained such a lasting friendship.

Karen said...

Your story is exactly why I love doing a Christmas Journal every year. There's always a prompt about cards, but every year we think of different responses to them. This is a wonderful tale!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Adorable card, awesome story, and beautiful photo of your lovely mom, Jacky!

Sandra said...

Oh that's made me smile so much

Amy said...

That is a fabulous story Jacky and that photo of your Mum is quite stunning.

Helen Philipps said...

What a sweet and moving story! And a lovely photo of your mother. One of the things I love about scrap booking is unearthing and remembering the stories as you scrap the photos.......it is a very special craft.
Helen x

Sheena said...

What a wonderful story jacky that certainly needed to be told & shared :)

Sian said...

What a lovely, lovely story Jacky. thought you said you weren't much of a storyteller?!!

Abi said...

That is such a lovely story. How amazing that they kept writing to each other after all that time. it sounds like something out of a book!

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

What a lovely story and a beautiful photo of your Mum.