Too Few

Generally, I'm not much of a card-sender.

In my family, a store-bought card was something of a scandal. The idea that you would purchase sentiments manufactured by someone else! So sending a card required a great deal of effort, as one needed to pick, or ~ better ~ make, a nice blank card and then inscribe it with a thoughtful, personalized message.

Despite the disincentives posed by this ethos, every few years, I send cards. And for some reason, this year I was moved to do so again.

In a flurry of individualization, I ordered up a bunch of custom cards from Shutterfly. Forty-one to be exact (there was an additional discount for more than 40, and I'm nothing if not thrifty). It is an especially piquant and strange experience, in the era of email and instant messaging, to handwrite and actually post a card.

I made a list, I addressed, I inscribed. And realized, to my horror, that I didn't have enough cards. Forty-one is not enough cards. I am shocked. And thrilled.

If you don't get a card from me, please don't feel left out! I simply didn't realize just how many people my life is blessed with. I'll try to do better next year. Or, as I should probably say, the next year I send cards.

Happy New Year

I rang in the New Year with friends, in a low-key fashion.

We went out for an early dinner, then to my church for a mostly-Bach concert, and after that to see "Walk the Line." The whole thing was quite enjoyable.

I have the feeling that 2006 is going to be something of a watershed year. Things are moving beneath the surface of my life. I'm intrigued, excited, and more than a little scared.

I wish for each of you, my six-or-so beloved readers, a year of growth, fulfillment, and joy. I hope too that you'll tell me all about it.