Let me first confess... I used to be a Christmas card disser. Now, I don't mean that I received them and threw them away without giving them any regard. I mean, I used to roll my eyes at the Christmas letter and smirk at the faces in the portraits and sigh at the people who displayed their cards like they were a popularity contest (very Lucy versus Charlie Brown style).
But once Ryan and I married and moved away from our family and friends (10 Christmases ago!!!), I learned the beauty and power of the Christmas card. In the beginning, I wasn't good at sending them out (although I bought them every year with the best of intentions), but have made a better effort in the past couple of years.
Now, I am totally on board with the Christmas card. I love that Christmas cards allow me a little glimpse into the lives of friends and family that I may not speak to or see in the confines of a year. I am not at all insulted by a mass-produced Christmas letter ( I love the narrative, the updates, the summary...). I hope to remain on the Christmas card lists of friends I haven't seen (or maybe even spoken to) in years. Being in the military gives us the opportunity to meet people and share the same location for a short period of time before moving on, but the Christmas card is a simple means of saying, "I'm glad to have known you and look forward to the time our Army paths may meet again."
Unfortunately, I am not good at updating my addresses so every year I have the list of people I want to send a card to, but don't know where to send it. And, I also understand that there are people who are probably receiving a card from us every year wondering when we'll stop sending them because we haven't had any other contact in years-- I am still debating that dilemma.
I also drive Ryan crazy thinking about our yearly Christmas card. The kids don't mind my bossiness now, but I am sure the time is soon approaching when even a small ounce of cooperation will be impossible. Alas, I do have ideas for our cards for the years when I am dealing with uncooperative teenagers (who are not as cute as uncooperative toddlers) , but I can't share them yet. Here were some outtakes from our Christmas card (we went with the cooking theme) this year:
1 comment:
I love Christmas cards too; I share the same sentiment. In fact, this year was the first year I have ever really done them, and yet still, a lot of people didn't get them. Ahhh, maybe next year! I do enjoy reading about what everyone is doing though.
BTW, I love your wordiness, i.e. beautiful prose, I thoroughly look forward to your posts. Great job!
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