Seasons Greetings

Like a lot of things in the Information Age, Seasons Greetings have changed.

I used to do an annual End-of-Year/Christmas/Hannukah letter in hard copy.  It detailed news of our far-flung family (Colorado! California! China! Chile! Portlandia!) along with my own special brand of wry observation on human nature, usually with a punch line that was either slyly political – or sometimes frankly Freudian.  I’d print it off, fold it in 4, and stuff it inside a traditional greeting card.  And not just a card from Hallmark, mind you; but rather, from one of the more-or-less progressive charities we support  like Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project, The Nature Conservancy, Planned Parenthood, or The American Heart Association.  Then I’d hand-address the envelopes, stick a seasonal stamp on there, and – most importantly – I’d affix a pre-printed return address label for the convenience of all those who’d wait to see who sent THEM a card before mailing one back at the very last minute – the sneaky buggers.

(Like I said:  Human nature, donchaknow?)

But as I’ve grown older (I said older, not necessarily wiser), I’ve gotten over all that.  Or at least, I’ve gotten over most of it.  Oh, never fear, I’ll still send out a few actual cards to our nearest and dearest.  But gone is the day of the Long Annual Missive – after all, that’s what a blog is for, right?  Instead, I’ll usually just jot a short handwritten note wishing a Merry and/or a Happy without too many details about who in the family had a heart attack this past year, who’s in (or out) of rehab, which jobs/gigs have begun (or ended), and – most importantly – the state of my Hemoglobin A1C.  (But for those who are curious, it’s 7.4 – and Thank You Very Much For Asking!)

I have a few friends who now send online animated eGreetings like the ones at jacquielawson.com (shameless plug here) – not only for Christmas, but also for Birthdays and Easter and the 4th of July.  (I have to admit, I’m a real sucker for those.)   Some do the family portrait with Shutterfly, either with or without brief annual updates on the back.  Some just send a tastefully engraved card on heavy stock with the signature done in quill pen.  A few hold-outs still do the old style fold-up long-form Holiday Letter.  Some of the more OC of these run to multiple pages, with verrrrry skinny margins, and the personalized one-liner squeezed in at the bottom in teensy-tiny handwriting… Oh, go do a blog already fercryinoutloud!

One or two who have for one reason or another run afoul of me over the course of the past year  – you know who you are! – I have told specifically that they are “coming off  the Christmas card list.” But, not to worry, I don’t send out many of those any more anyway.  Besides, anyone and everyone can still read my blog – even unreconstructed Neanderthals – but I digress.

So, anyway, Merry, and Happy to all and sundry.  May the New Year bring you peace, prosperity, and above all, good health.  If there is one thing getting older has taught me, it is never to take good health for granted.  May those you hold dear be near-at-heart even when they are physically far-flung.  And above all, remember that updates are both frequent & free @ dewconsulting.net/blog…

 

 

…even for unreconstructed Neanderthals!