Christmas Cards

In years gone by, November was a special time where I would assemble the 'machine' that was my Christmas card processing plant. This normally included last year's lists of sent and received Christmas cards, addresses, stamps, multiple years of printed address books, etc.  Each year I would work through relatives and friends until all of the folks are covered.

Suffice it to say that I previously endeavored to ensure that each card was crafted and customized toward the recipient to engage them and have them know that during the time that I was writing the card, I was thinking about them and their family.  Sometimes that meant a note about their life based on the updates from Facebook or the latest news via Mum and Dad from home. But it was always personal and never generic.

This blog post is, unfortunately, one that is saying that Christmas cards are not 'on the cards' this year. If you would normally receive a card from us, please accept this post as your card. There is plenty of news on this blog to take the place of the annual  obligatory Christmas letter. Please don't slot us into the 'do not send card anymore' category as we love getting cards (we hang them up in our kitchen), we're just not going to reciprocate this year.  (I realize that this is selfish).

To fill out the story beyond my crazy health concerns, dear wife is getting along great at work with union, teaching and college project work. The middle schooler is a straight A student and two youngest are excelling in their classes. We're blessed with wonderful workplaces and kids who love learning and are reasonably well behaved!

Yep, the purpose of this blog post is to let you know that we're not going to be sending Christmas cards this year. I don't feel great about it but I feel a certain relief in knowing that it is unilateral and definitive. I'm sorry if you expect a card every year, I'm pretty sure that you can catch up on our lives via our generally prolific Facebook postings. I'm sorry if you were hoping for a family photo but I've posted a million photos since last year. Know that right now getting all of the family into one room to have a family photo is beyond our hope of civil discourse.  But most importantly, know that I'm planning on going through my Christmas card lists during my impending surgery and recovery and will be looking for ways to reach out via email to each family to tell them that we're thinking about them and hoping for a wonderful holiday season for them and their families.

If you are still reading this post, have a great Thanksgiving, Christmas and/or whatever holiday you're celebrating at this time of year. We love you, are thankful for your friendship and wish you and your family prosperity in the future.