2012: A Banner Year

I'm tossing around a new idea to replace the oft-touted, rarely kept new year's resolution. It would take a global approach to the new year instead of the myopic tendency we have to focus on making changes in the first few months and then tiring of the effort at all for the remainder of the year. Instead of making a number of grand proclamations about what we will do different or better or more fabulous, Ben and I have decided we will give 2012 a theme name and then make all our decisions big and small with this theme in mind. I suggested we might call 2012, The Year of Champagne--then every time we have to make any decisions we would drink a bottle of bubbly and let the booze be our guide. Ben thought maybe that wouldn't be exactly true to the spirit of our new idea especially since it has so much potential for disaster in the first year of this new campaign. Instead, he suggested 2012: The Year of Fun. And I heartily agree! Now we will have 365 days of opportunities to ask ourselves if given the choice between laundry and a day at the park--which would be more fun? And I handily support any new year's theme that will give me not only carte blanche to choose the fun things but which would mean I fail if I do not!

Of course, some days there are bound to be choices between two equally un-fun things, grocery shopping and dusting, for example but having to choose the fun one just might make me see even my chores as opportunities to have fun. Mary Poppins and her spoon full of sugar will be my inspiration on those days. There's no reason something mundane can't be transformed into something exciting and fun.

All-in-all I can't think of a better way to approach another new year than to be conscious of all our decisions, both inconsequential and impactful, to create more moments of pure, unadulterated fun. Let's live the next year as we hope our kids will--blissful, free and having FUN!

Of christmas cards and the digital age

Christmas cards are sort of my thing--anything paper related actually. Ever since we had kids I like to send a great-looking card whereas before, I just bought whatever I liked from card store and had far fewer cards to send. I actually wrote my cards out by hand to each and every person! Insert audible gasp here.

Now, I settle for a pre-printed one with a photo but we send about 75 cards out so it can get expensive. I'm trying to be good about getting a photo done early so I can take advantage of the sales that they all offer around Thanksgiving and of course, as a bonus that would mean I can get my cards out earlier too.

I guess you could say I'm not a fan of those envelope-sized glossy photo cards.
Way back before the digital age made the printed word cheap and instantaneous, some might say effortless and thoughtless too, people put their Christmas cards in a shoebox to save. People had things to say to each other and took the time to write those sentiments on a card during the holidays. I have to think those cards were saved as much for the power of their written words as for the effort it took to send the card at all. Whole shoe boxes were dedicated to saving those cards, as anyone with an elderly relative can attest! Then, we stopped writing them in favor of store-bought printed cards with their factory generated sayings, quotes, and artwork saving us the time and energy of writing them ourselves. Now, even those seem to have almost disappeared in favor of the ubiquitous glossy photo card printed on 9.5x4.5 paper so one can just slip them in the envelopes already on-hand in the office; practically eliminating entirely any thought or effort on our part.

But, I have to wonder what exactly we accomplish by sending those flimsy, notoriously difficult to display, pieces of photo paper that will fade to oblivion in less than a year. Certainly, cost is a factor. They can be cheaper than a store bought card to send and everyone loves a good photo.

But, If you want cheap you can just print the 4x6 photos and pop them in the mail with a post-it note to say Merry Christmas. There's always a 100 cards for 1 cent each deal going on online. And if post-its aren't your thing, buy the frame-type cards. It would be like sending a mini-Christmas gift or a card that keeps on giving. I know I would keep a photo I received like that but those long skinny cards I just never know what to do with. They don't stand on their own, they don't fit in a frame or photo album pocket and they're not printed to last without fading for any length of time. But I guess if you send those kind you don't expect any of that. It's a disposable card.

If it were acceptable many folks would probably skip the step of sending a card at all and just attach a photo to an email and write, "Merry Christmas!" in the subject line and hit send to 400 of their closest friends and family. To be fair, an email is probably already pretty close to being an acceptable mode of delivery for a Christmas card. A friend of mine did that last Christmas.

But, I reserve the right to stand up for tradition and quietly send out our cards--already a step-down from years past when we sent folded cards with a hand-written note--on real paper just in case someone out there still has a shoebox with which they like to collect their Christmas cards. And I like to think that we'll be around and our messages of joy and happiness in this season will last far longer having been saved by a few of the traditionalists in some little shoebox somewhere.

Wishing everyone a beautiful holiday season and mailboxes full of enduring, heartfelt messages of joy and love.

Winter Bucket List

A friend gave me the idea of doing a bucket list for all the things we can't wait to do with the girls this winter and I am loving it! Gi and I took some time this afternoon to dream up our list and it included everything from our time-honored tradition of making cookies and decorating them together to ice skating, something we have yet to try for the first time.

19 winter activities later we have our official winter 2011 bucket list! Gi decided she would make an ornament for herself and Noa, number 4 on our list, and by the end of the afternoon we were able to cross off our first item! Now we'll have a constant reminder to seize every day this winter and not miss any chances for some good old-fashioned merrymaking. Personally, I'm really looking forward to number 6 on our list, call someone and sing them a Christmas carol. We may have to do that one a few times for all our family!