December 25, 2022

Dear Nikola,

When you find Christmas disappointing, you're not alone. It's been my observation that there are few families, if any, which in some perspective, at some level, are not fractured and are less than perfectly happy. I vividly remember the sarcasm in my father's voice when he said "Fröhliche Weihnachten", (Merry Christmas). On December 29, 1949, the first winter we knew each other, my future wife reported, "Christmas was pretty awful for me. Janet and Bob added to my sense of helplessness. They were so "cute" that I did not know how to speak to them." Christmas seems to be an occasion when we try to bandage the injuries that we can't help inflicting on each other. It doesn't work. Today's edition of Le Monde has an article providing arguments pro and con for 17 disputes at the Christmas dinner table.  Dix-sept sujets de dispute pour animer votre réveillon https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2022/12/24/dix-sept-sujets-de-dispute-pour-animer-votre-reveillon-france-argentine-la-corrida-le-49-3_6155577_4355770.html I have long considered Christmas an occasion for catching up on family maintenance, sometimes long overdue. I wish you a safe and comfortable trip back to Boston.  Please give my regards to your parents. EJM