I really hate to admit this but . . . I am totally anal about our family Christmas card. I have driven my family to the brink of insanity on more than one occasion obsessing over the Christmas card photo, card choice and personalized signatures. In our family, photos have always been a point of contention. E and I take pictures of everything on every occasion. One of us, who shall remain nameless, absolutely does not enjoy having his picture taken. He is patient enough for exactly one photo. Heaven forbid, someone has their eyes closed in that first one. After that, all the politeness and good manners his momma taught him fly out the window. You would think by now, he would be used to it. No such luck. But thankfully, he does give me a little bit of a pass when it comes time for Christmas.
So, much to his delight and to alleviate all the stress of the annual Christmas photo shoot this year, I have chosen a photograph that was taken during a summer photo shoot. Let me explain. As an expression of gratitude for D serving as the Georgia Food Industry Chairman the past two years, the organization arranged for us to have a family portrait taken and then presented the portrait during the annual convention in July. Well, if you know me at all, you know there is no greater gift I could be given. To me, pictures of my family are priceless. I was thrilled.
So I was super excited about this session. Let’s just say my excitement didn’t rub off on everybody. But, hey, it was out of my control this time. I could blame this photo shoot on someone else. Yea! So, one very hot June afternoon, we all coordinated our outfits and headed out to a local lakeside park for the adventure. And an adventure it was. We met the photographer there and she proceeded to check and recheck lighting and background details. If you can imagine, we are finally all in place . . . so hoping she takes these photos before we all melt into a puddle of sweat . . . stuck together . . . trying with all our might not to force a smile. Ready . . . set . . . . . wait. We watch in disbelief as this guy, carrying his bright red cooler and his lawn chair plops down right beside us - pops open a cold one and settles in for an afternoon siesta. How in the world could he not have seen what was going on and thought just for one small second that he might be in the picture? Sometimes you just have to laugh.
Also, as a part of the Christmas card experience, I find it very important for each of us to sign the card with our own handwritten signature. Just a weirdness of mine, I guess. So sometime during our Thanksgiving weekend activities, we’ll all gather around the kitchen table and pass the cards around. I call it family bonding time. The boys just call it halftime of the football game.
Well, I have already ordered my cards this year, with E’s help. She worked tirelessly with me half a day last week accomplishing this goal. Thank you, sweetie. Without her, I would not have been introduced to the world of photo card creation on the internet. Names like Winkflash, Snapfish and Shutterfly could have been just some weird breed of mascara, amphibian and annoying insect for all I knew.
We kinda got carried away this year with the card creation. I hope we haven’t gone over the top. I guess you’ll have to let me know when you see it. Until then, consider the importance of staying in touch with your family and friends this Christmas season. It is so much fun getting those cards, photos and letters out of the mailbox during the month of December. Happy writing!
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