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Greeting style changes but sentiment is same

I know there’s been a very contentious climate hovering in the airwaves as of late, what with so many folks bellowing their opinions so publicly every three seconds or so. Even now, as we begin the second full week in December, the brouhaha continues.

It may, in fact, be one of those debates that never truly ends; an epic conundrum with no discernable resolution.

Alas, I can stay silent no longer. At the risk of personal peril, I am openly addressing the controversy by taking a stand, so here it goes: I am sending electronic Christmas cards this year.

What; you thought I was going somewhere else? No, no; for me, at least, the election has been over for a month now.

#trumpwon #letsmoveonpeople

But, with regard to this equally, hotly-contested topic, I feel I must: a) make the obvious confession and b) draw the corresponding line in the snow.

First, the declaration of guilt. It’s true that I’ve gone down many past paths of holiday greeting transmission since the first time I tackled the task in the early 1990s.

Like any ingenue, I over-achieved in the first few years by splurging on pricey Hallmark boxed sets stuffed to the rim with an annual update letter, handwritten greetings and even family photos.

It was super fun … for about the first 30 seconds. Then it morphed into a chore and by the time it was finally over, it felt much more like slave labor.

Hmpf.

So, in order to simplify, I went the “make your own” route for several ensuring years. In the past few seasons alone, I’ve created quite the collage ‘o memories complete with photos of my immediate family (including our pups) and sometimes with snaps of extended family members and dear pals. The photo reel has run the gamut, variously containing selections from school, sports, or vacation shots. And each year, without fail, someone complains about no less than two of the pictures on the dang card.

Sometimes the offended party is in a photo they find personally unflattering; other times, they are put off by the amount of times another family member is featured, comparatively-speaking or by the manner in which their particular selection was angled or cropped.

Sigh.

Lest we forget that one fateful year I included a badly lit selection; it was an evening shot of the three of us in front of the beautiful tree dotting the quaint shopping / entertainment piazza near my sister-in-law’s lovely neighborhood near Sarasota, Fl. Fine, it was a little dark.

Sheesh!

Man, you’d think I included an x-ray the way people were blathering on and on about the shot.

#icantwin

And so, in the interest of both relieving the burden on letter carriers and photo developers everywhere, I am taking the leap of circulating my well wishes electronically this year. Gulp, there. That’s my decision and I’m sticking to it. That’s it. End of discussion. It’s just something I’m going to do this year.

Please don’t hate me.

I know some folks will be upset. I mean, I have friends and some relatives who actually track their received cards in a big old book. Yikes. Recording whether or not someone offers you a holiday greeting is a little like being the smile police, no?

Crap. I’m gonna make lotsa naughty lists this year.

Look, in my defense, I’ve been so beat up by my past efforts that I’m taking the streamlined, new millennium approach. Yeah, OK, it took me 16 years to get there. I digress.

I’m sorry, OK? But no matter how I send you my greeting; one thing will never change — I will always send my sincerest sentiments for a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and happy holidays. No apologizing for mentioning JC; it’s His birthday, yo.

Either way, to all my beloved family members, friends and sweet colleagues and neighborhood pals; I beseech you – do not judge my decision to go virtual as an indication that I heart you any less. It’s just going to help PK an awful lot with her kooky holiday TO DO list this year.

Besides, I might finally be able to sublet the villa in the south of France with the money I’ll be saving on postage this year.

Kimerer is a Tribune Chronicle columnist who says Merry Christmas and means it … even via email. Contact her through her blog site at www.patriciakimerer.com

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