Christmas 2024
My dearest
children,
Christmas-time is
here again, and I am blessed to be writing with Good News: Bell Doubletree and
I are Engaged to be married! Never in my warmest dreams had I expected an Engagement
in less than a decade, never-mind Four Short Years, but Madame Noelle Matchwright
thought otherwise! Pere Noel agreed, and the two convinced old Tuggs to
loose the reins and let us run. We are to be married on the Vernal Equinox!
In truth, it took
little convincing. Master Doubletree is a practical-minded fellow as we Elves
go, but he loves his Bell truly and sees the ways in which we complement and
challenge each other. Plus, once I began recording the Doubletree family
history, he and I spent many evenings together over a pint and pipe. God has
blessed my new vocation as an Historian—wink!
Unlike the mild,
grey December you are having, Winter here has been bitterly cold, and the Polar
Maintenance Corps deals daily with Frozen Pipes and Flooded Basements! Coincidentally,
the leader of the PMC is one Maglorious Chamberpot—a name I’m sure Miss Lily
and your father will find amusing, given their urging of Brother Jude to choose
St. Maglorious as his patron. Our Maglorious is descended from a long line of
very capable custodians and pipe-fitters—the Clan Chamberpot has kept the Pole
spick and span since before the days of indoor plumbing!
You may have
noticed a tendency among Our Kind for families in similar kinds of work to be
joined in matrimony,[1]
and the Chamberpots are no exception. Glory’s wife, for example, is Pristine
Ablewhite, a laundress of great renown whose grandfather, Fuller, is
responsible for cleaning the soot from Santa’s suit upon his return Christmas
morning, ensuring the fur trim is kept “dazzlingly white” (Mark 9:13). Priss
now assists Glory in running the PMC’s Housekeeping Division; her siblings
Prest, Prim, and Proper run the Great White Polar Laundry Service.
Congratulations
to all of you for your persistence on the Nice List! I will continue to report your
status, though you are older now, and there is little doubt year to year. Welcome
home, Rome clan, and congratulations on your Blessed Addition, little Laverna—what
a lovely way to commemorate your pilgrimage with St. Francis last winter, on
the 800th anniversary of the first Nativity Scenes. And kudos to
you, Miss Emma, Master Trevor, and Miss Lily, for another year of doing good
and doing it well. Persist in your Good Works, whether at school, at home, or
in the Wide World, and you will be Rewarded—truly!
Finally, a word for
your dear parents: We see you, dear Jodi, and know your Heart for your
Children, which is much like ours (only more so). They love you, and the
separations of Distance or Obedience will not change that. And you, James—cease
your worrying! Your efforts to be a good Husband and Father have not been perfect
but have born good fruit. Our Lady and St. Joseph shared your pains keenly,
until they arrived before their Son in Heaven—then all such sorrow ceased. Such
joy awaits you both!
Peace to you, one
and all. Wishing you the happiest of Christmases and very blessed New Year!
Yours
still and always,
Q
Siberius Quill
[1] You might not guess it, but my Wordsmithery
and Bell’s Engravery are not so different either—both detail-driven crafts
requiring a keen eye, a practiced hand, creativity, and polish!
