Tidings

Ever since my kids were babies, I’ve been making my own holiday cards. I started with cute photos of the boys in matching holiday pajamas (or jamamas as Nate used to call them) and have evolved them over the years into intricate branded pieces of art crafted from papers, ribbons, cords and glitter. I remember vividly the year I painstakingly affixed jingle bells to each card with embroidery floss, only to come home from work and find the mailman had left a box on my doorstep filled with the cards and a notice of insufficient postage.  Ouch!  I cried, really, I did.  The mock-up was born from that experience, a single card mailed to myself early in the process to ensure a postal service friendly design. One year I even strung a chain of miniature lights around a paper tree with the message “shine”. This card was bubble wrapped inside the envelope; I was taking no chances.  More than just a picture, the cards are meticulously detailed to tell my story as they are opened and unfolded, no newsletter required.

With many of us paring down our lists, skipping years, or maybe even calling it quits completely, it’s easy to leap to the conclusion that the internet is responsible for the demise of the greeting card.  However, this piece in The Atlantic cites statistics that support the belief that the Christmas card is alive and well, and suggests that maybe we are prematurely mourning its death, and glorifying its value even, in the wake of social media:  http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/the-christmas-card-may-or-may-not-die-but-its-spirit-has-conquered-us-all/266471/.  Digging out my address list from last year reminded me that I had tracked those who sent me cards.  The math says a significant number on my list no longer reciprocate.  I’m trying to decide if this bothers me. 

The thing is I find myself sending more cards than ever. Each year I add a few names to my list, new people I’ve met who have made an impact on the lives of me and my boys.  But I truly have a hard time removing anyone, because my friends and family anticipate these cards in their mailboxes.  Just today a friend told me that my card is the only card she waits for.    

I’m sometimes a little overwhelmed by the response this work generates.  Several years ago I actually received a note in January from an extended family member saying how touched she and her husband were by the photo of my boys with the word “gift”, the message inside “the most precious gifts are right beside us every day”.

When we can put something of ourselves out there and touch someone else the world becomes that much better.  My cards arrived in mailboxes across the country this week.  Driving home from the office yesterday, I realized that there are 72 people out there who opened up my card and smiled, maybe marveled, hopefully spent a moment thinking about my message in terms of those who matter most to them.  Isn’t that what it’s all about?