Merry Christmas?

Is February 3 too late to send Christmas cards?

'Tis the season...should I still mail them or recycle them? Yup, I still have most of our Christmas cards taunting me from my closet and my to-do list.  I am the queen of good intentions. I buy graduation cards for all my friends’ children, my nieces and nephews…and often don’t mail them. My nephew just received his graduation card from us with his birthday card and Christmas card—several months late. I really mean well. It’s my follow-through that stinks. As I rang in the New Year, I vowed to address this flaw of mine (along with my previously admitted to procrastination). But that pledge was for 2015 forward, what do I do about last year’s Christmas/ Hanukkah cards?
I should have learned my lesson years ago. After buying mother’s day cards for all the mamas in our family, I would have our kids sign the cards (not easy for toddlers) and then forget to mail them. How ridiculous is that?

When I would call my mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day, it seemed most years I was making excuses about her MIA card. I would even explain that we all had signed her card, which somehow was supposed to make it better. My mom would laugh and shrug it off like my other quirky traits, but I know it hurt her. I always thought I would mail a whole pile of the cards to her…someday.  As too often happens when I procrastinate, “someday” never comes.

So mom has been gone two years now and one might think the regret would make me change my ways. Yet, I stare at this stack of Christmas photo cards and the requisite Christmas letter that was supposed to accompany each photo and wonder what to do. We enjoyed the many Christmas messages and photos we received from friends and family.  When it quickly became apparent that I was in jeopardy of not sending out our Christmas cards, I switched my strategy to just answering cards this year. Problem is, I answered some of the cards when they first arrived and then got busy, fell behind and then the cards kept coming and the piles got mixed together and now I am unsure which cards I have already answered.

Which brings me to another question: is it worse to get a Christmas card in February, not get one at all or (gasp!) get two from the same deranged person—after all, who mails Christmas cards in February?

If you get one of my “Valentine’s,” please keep it our little secret. If you get a second card from us, just think of it as an extra dose of love (with just a cup of crazy added!).  Seasons Greetings!

But wait, there’s more…

When I started this blog last week, my goal was to write Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  This is Monday’s blog written on Tuesday evening.  Some habits do die hard. I am starting to think a better title would have been “Better Late than Never”—although that is up for debate too.