Address Labels and Christmas Spirits

Address Labels:
The last of the cards have been mailed now. If you've already gotten yours, you won't know that / why they were delayed. Either yours were hand delivered, or we used the last of the "Heather-and-Steve" address labels to get out what we could. I knew we were short - surprise! 60 cards take a lot of labels - and went online to order something somewhat seasonal without being too obnoxious.

Well, obnoxious is a relative thing. When I selected which cards to mail early, I picked the recipients who mostly lived down south, or absolutely needed their cards earlier. That's because I picked, with Steve's blessing, a label showing a snowman relaxing along a tropical beach. We figured that would be less humorous for those already enjoying mild temperatures, unfettered by icy and snowy roads. Only part was "Ha ha", the rest was "Why are you still up there instead of moving or at least visiting?"

So the labels arrived in today's mail, and finished cards were driven to the P.O. for their late pickup. Unfortunately, there was a printing error. I ordered them with both out names on it. What arrived had only mine. I knew, at the very least, that some recipients had no clue who I am. Other, mostly Steve's extended family and friends, might understandably be hurt by the lack of inclusion of his name. It was, well, not solved but maybe eased, by handwriting Steve's name above the top of the label.

At least where there was space. Seems those labels had a nice static charge when pulled off their backing. The end of the label I wasn't holding on to jumped right on to the envelope, well before I had a chance to position it where it really belonged. Some had to be folded down around corners, it was so bad. And Steve's name had to squeeze into a teeny space, shrinking in size the closer it got to the end of his name. The labels always pointed higher on the right.

I think the eBay feedback will be a little less that 5 stars this time. There was no indication that there wasn't room for both names, and I've had plenty other labels that made room.

Christmas Spirits:
No, this is not about the kinds one imbibes. If you know me, you know I don't care for them. After divorcing an alcoholic and raising another,  as well as drinking myself sick-drunk during an experimental evening in college, there is less than no appeal.

This is more like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Every time I get in the car, carols and other seasonal music is inescapable. Back as far as I can remember, I sung all the carols and hymns. I was always in school and church choir. I did some door-to-door caroling myself. Taking the kids to the Loyce Holton version of "The Nutcracker" in Minneapolis was a family tradition, and no other "Nutcracker" has ever measured up emotionally, but I still immerse in the music when I can this time of year.

I don't sing any more. I have a fledgling tradition going of attending the Christmas concerts of a good friend, and they tend to make me nostalgic, as well as depressed that I'm not doing it any more. Of course, beliefs have changed, and that also saddens me. It used to be a magical time, something not recoverable, no more than waiting for Santa is more than a distant wisp of nostalgia.

I can recall sneaking down stairs in the black of night to try to peek into presents without leaving traces on the wrappings to see if THE present was there this time. It was, and my parents let me think I'd gotten away with it. Now days, presents are distributed during the summer when there is no postage to have to deal with since we're up with all the relatives, so only cards go out now. I'm not represented by a gaily decorated package under any Minnesota child's tree, except in one case this year with a post-summer announcement of a forthcoming great grandson.  (Of course, they came Amazon, so still no wrapping.)

There are a couple presents under our tree this year. Steve has something for me. His idea of wrapping involves a pretty bag and a bunch of tissue paper. (I wonder that this former Navy guy doesn't get mitered corner folds, but oh well.) Easy as it might be, I haven't even been tempted to peek. Part of my gift to him will be my surprise. Childhood is so long gone.

The tree, as you may have just realized, is finally up. Even somewhat decorated. After having decided a couple years ago that there would be no more trees, we divested ourselves of most of our old and traditional ornaments. Grandchildren still had trees. Somehow we never tossed out the tree, however. This year is absolutely the last (big) one.This is because Steve joined an online network of "people in YOUR neighborhood", and found a shoutout for somebody needing a tree. When he responded, a tree had been secured but ornaments were still needed. It took about two seconds for us to decided we could finish getting rid of all but the very, very most sentimental ornaments. We downsized from three totes of them to one of ornaments to be hauled away, one to hold our last decorations, and one huge tote for the tree to get hauled off in just after Christmas. The same family coordinating donations will be expecting to need to pick it up then.

It turns out to be our present to ourselves, and I'm not just talking about all the new open space in the house. It's one of the few things that carries no melancholy strings for this season.

One other is all the lights up. Maybe it's just needing lights to brighten the solstice. Maybe it's not seeing the traditional lights but strings wound around tall palm tree trunks and some pretty silly ways of decorating cactus, such as on this year's card. That was done last year, by the way, and not our house. Either those residents have moved or just chosen something different. Perhaps it was a short fad, since a copycat down the block isn't doing it again either. We do miss, somewhat, the two competing homes across a street from each other several blocks north which we could spot on our way to the grocery store. Several years in a row, not only was it a blast of light along a dark curve, but neither yard had an inch of space for any more snowmen, creches, reindeer, spiral lights pretending to be pine trees, Santas, elves, sleighs, and whatever-the-heck-else they found to set up and pay the electric bills for. The HOA may have decided they presented a nuisance to neighborhood traffic and sleeping patterns. You know, just thinking of us old folks....

Hey, I think I've just cheered myself up enough to head off to bed now. Ho Ho H...zzzzzzzzz.