#44 - Don't Like Xmas Card Stress

42 Years

I've sent Christmas cards every year, since we were married, 42 years ago.  But I'm giving myself a break this year and it feels wonderful. I can't believe how freeing this feels. Well... maybe I'll end up sending New Year's cards. ?

So I made that decision. But now, I'm thinking about certain people. I'm remembering that it's especially difficult during the holidays, when you've recently lost a parent or a spouse or a sibling.  I'm thinking about friends and family members, dealing with illness, surgeries...  and a special family, dealing with a most tragic loss this year. Okay, I am sending a very few cards this year. 

Packages?

This is me last year. It was just one of my trips to the post office. In 2020, I  was so eager to wrap gifts and mail them personally. I didn't mind.

In 2020, Don and I had an isolated, pandemic Christmas. So did our kids and all my sibs and relatives, in far away states. I was happy to work extra hard, to make packages special.

This Year?

This year I'm not fretting over perfect packages. I was able to fit all my  packages into one bag. I simplified this year with online shopping and shipping. 

Today, I entered the PO and felt relaxed. I wasn't even frustrated, that the 2 self-serve machines were broken. (Why are they always broken?) Waiting in line wasn't stressful. The usually grumpy woman behind the counter, even ended up laughing with me... when we both admitted we couldn't understand each other at all, though our masks.

I walked out feeling satisfied instead of giddy and gleeful, like most years. But I'm learning to cut a few corners here and there. I'm getting smarter in my old age. 
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