Groundhog Day Memories...

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. For some reason unknown to me, my mother has always had a particular fondness for this peculiar holiday. It is funny how we rest our forecast on a fuzzy rodent and make a whole day to enjoy his predictions. I guess really this is no more odd than placing a man or woman in dress apparel (as if it were a holiday) on television and sitting around every night to see what they have to say about the weather. Now in all honesty the “weather humans” have a more scientific approach than the “weather rodents” to this whole nonsense. Why is it that when all is said in done both the human and the rodent; more often than not (especially if you live in Missouri) are still sitting at a 50/50 shot of being right? At any rate we all still sit and watch and wait. First thing in the morning my mother would always call our house when the kids were small and wish them Happy Groundhog Day. My father at my mother’s request many years ago made her a groundhog cookie cutter. She would usually spend the morning after she called us, making gingerbread groundhogs. Mom and Dad would then show up sometime after lunch, to discuss the furry fellow’s prediction from earlier in the day. My dad always played along or maybe being from Pennsylvania he really enjoyed all the hype; I really don’t know which. My kids would always await their grandparent’s arrival of the funny shaped cookies with great anticipation. Often as they got older the kids (especially the older two) would sip tea, eat rodent shaped cookies and watch Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day with their grandparents in the afternoon. One year after a particularly hectic holiday season our family failed to get any Christmas letters or cards out (not like this was an isolated incident either with five small children). However, this year we decided we would not wait a whole year to send out our yearly greetings. So with many chuckles and actually some outlandishly made up details we mailed our first ever Groundhog Day letters to family and friends. The kids were small but the older three were able to contribute to this yearly Edward’s family documentary. I say this in a light hearted fashion as I am not really a fan of these ever popular Christmas brag fests that blanket our mailboxes every year (we have one friend who actually mails out a 3-5 page newsletter every year…really?? Why???). Most of us write these to let others know what we have been up to, or how the family has fared over the past 12 months. Others (“ahem.. a lot") are usually riddled with elaborate accounts of how somebodies everything is the best and most amazing and guess where we traveled? “Oh yes and little Susie made honor roll!” Now, don’t get your panties in a wad, I too have succumbed to writing these letters more often than I care too. I do actually enjoy getting them; although I have to be honest, the 3-5 pager gets skimmed. We do live in a world where it is hard to see and visit with everybody who we care about. Many times we have joyous news to share: births, weddings, graduations, moves and wonderful achievements that we should all celebrate are also part of these yearly Christmas letters. Well folks the year we wrote our Groundhog Day letter we included everything! My oldest three chuckled their way through the afternoon as they detailed our important “do tell” activities. From a child’s point of view these are quite different than what an adult would write. We gave detailed explanations of what we ate for breakfast (I believe scrambled eggs), that my daughters shoes didn't match again (this happened a lot she liked them this way!) The boys told about their Lego buildings and I believe the only family photo that year was a crayon drawing done by our 4th child. I have to say Doyle and I were in tears laughing as we read over this letter and mailed the last few. It is still one of my all-time favorite holiday letters from the past 25 years! This year… I woke up yesterday I told my husband that I would call Mom and wish her a Happy Groundhog Day. As I mentioned this, the only child at the house yesterday morning mentioned with love the groundhog cookies. Incidentally my father did several years ago make me a groundhog cookie cutter also; a cherished family heirloom for sure! Sometimes my parents still make groundhog cookies but now that dad doesn't drive they don’t always arrive after lunch. I took a mental note that I hadn't sent out our Christmas cards or letters this year either; things have been crazy busy. Probably more of a reason to write a yearly letter, even if we just keep a copy for ourselves (which we have done; like a family diary). Two years ago our daughter was given the privilege of writing the family letter as it was her last Christmas as an “Edwards” and she had many joyful things to share. This year we have been blessed abundantly also. It may be time for our 2nd annual Groundhog Day letter to go out! This one will be late and may not be as funny but will be cherished for sure. Along with great news of weddings, engagements and graduations maybe I will give a detailed account of breakfast just to make the letter perfect! I don’t really know to this day why Groundhog Day was so special to my mother but for many reasons other than the prediction of spring weather it has become one of my most fond memories. Copyright 2013 Micheline Edwards