There is always a tug-of-war between what needs to happen and what I want to do.

The first of the Christmas messages is folded and noted and almost sent. It will need a sticker from the government before I can put it in the mailbox. Cheryl sent a hundred or so Christmas cards out to family and friends. During the past few years it became my job to do so. I automated that process by ordering the cards preprinted with a message and a picture. Envelopes were printed with a return address. I knew how to do a mail merge on the Avery labels. Last year I did not. It was simply way to hard.

This year I am sending notes of my own design. Not so much of a Christmas greeting card, that sentiment seems very commercial to me. My notes are more of a generic thanks for your interest and I am doing okay note. Looking at my 75 year old handwriting sends me to the laptop to type. And my hand does not ache when I am done.

I plan to stick with this theme for years to come. We have abandoned personal letters in favor of SMS messages and email. Handwritten notes are more rare. I started writing those to my granddaughter, typed of course, when she started into college last year and she replies by hand in various colored pens and tells me about her experiences there.

I will change my message from year to year. Perhaps I will start a folder on this laptop and fill it with stories and commentary so that all I will do next December is edit and print. Doesn’t that sound organized? Sometimes I amaze myself.

The first note is still laying on the table by itself, lonely with no companions, while I write about writing notes.

Carpe Diem.