Oysterville Christmas Card

     There are some aspects of my nature which are perverse upon belief – a fact that I recognize but seem unable (or unwilling) to rectify.  One of those characteristics becomes appallingly apparent on this particular day every year.  It is always on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (and not until then) that I allow myself to begin thinking seriously about Christmas and, of course, by now it is almost too late.
     In my younger, plummier days, it was no problem to stand firm in the belief that it was wrong to ready oneself for Christmas before the Thanksgiving holiday was over.  As the years have gone by I’ve watched in horror as store decorations segué from Halloween to Christmas, sometimes even combining the themes of each by October’s beginning.  Those blatant commercial tactics, of course, only strengthen my resolve to enjoy each of our holidays in full measure before turning my attention to the next.
     But, this purity of heart and mind is beginning to cause me grief.  Last year, for instance, I ran out of time to address Christmas cards.  I got only as far as the Ms in my address book.  I doubt if I’ll do much better this year and I’ve been thinking that maybe I should start where I left off, mid-M.
     Undoubtedly, that would result in a new habit – sending cards every other year.  On the plus side, maybe that will prepare us and our friends for the time that Oysterville’s post office is no more and mailing Christmas greetings from elsewhere seems too onerous.  But that decision is yet to be made, so I will try not to borrow trouble…
     And, there are always email greetings.  But that doesn’t seem a good solution, either, for me of the traditionalist tendencies.  On the other hand, when it comes to Christmas shopping, what I can’t find locally I shop for online.  When I moved here from the California’s Bay Area 30+ years ago, I found that catalogs were a convenient alternative to the long trek to a city.  ‘Virtual shopping’ was a natural next step and so, in certain matters I have readily dispensed with tradition.  As I mentioned, “perverse beyond belief…”