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I hear the song “Christmas Time is Here” several times a week—almost daily—during the month of December. My special needs son is a Peanuts head. He has perfect pitch and a great talent for mimicking voices. Next time you want to hear Charlie Brown music, just ask. He serenaded my friend thing morning… No, the singing isn’t what I want to apologize for. (Unless, uh… it really hurts your ears.) I would like to confess a prior judgmental attitude. I’ve freed myself of it and wish to publicly say I’m sorry. I came to the realization of the errors of my thinking a couple years ago, but still held on to that “it won’t be me” attitude. I’M SORRY TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFETIME THAT I THOUGHT REALLY DIDN’T CARE BECAUSE THEY ONLY GAVE ME A CHRISTMAS CARD WITH THEIR NAMED SIGNED IN IT! There. It’s out. I judged. And now I am guilty of the same offense—even worse! This year I handed out/mailed a pre-printed Kodak Christmas card (with my kidlets picture on it, of course) to 98% of the people on my list. I didn’t even have to sign my name on it—I only addressed the envelopes! And I didn’t do a year-in-review family letter to go with it. Yes, it’s been sneaking up on me. Here’s my sad tale: Once upon a time, I mulled over a personalized paragraph for each recipient of a Christmas card. After one child, the cards just had a couple lines—and a wallet-sized photo of the darling kidlet. Two kids = bigger photo and maybe a sentence in greeting/closing. Three kids = a half-way decent picture of the three of them or all separate on a collage picture card if they weren’t cooperative… and about half the people on the list got an actual paper card as well. Here’s a sample from 2009, doctored to protect the innocent:

This year is the year of the photo card, with few exceptions. Maybe it’s the wordsmith in me, but I used to think that if someone didn’t care enough to at least write me a little note, why bother to give me the card. I showed them love and appreciation by writing them a few words of reflection or hope—wasn’t I worth that effort on their part? So, yeah… Life happens. My daily list of tasks to accomplish swells. As I mature, my ability to love grows and my circle of family and friends expands with that love. AND I DO CARE, EVEN IF I DIDN’T SIGN MY NAME! In closing I want your thoughts. Is it better to keep a circle small in order to pad a Christmas card with words or share a short greeting (or three smiling faces) with a wider group of people?