Christmas Cards: Coming Soon

For years Christmas cards sent from this traditional Chicagoland home were folded cards personalized with just a hand written message and our names. Yet cards that arrived from others with letters summarizing who-did-what-to-whom were read again and again. Cards that arrived with photos of other families were enjoyed countless times. Finally I took the plunge and nothing has stopped me since, except that one year I almost sent out a carefully written and edited Christmas letter that my family made me throw away, promising never to replicate. I've kept my word. Now I am content to plaster our faces on a card and let it speak for itself and it probably speaks volumes. Determining which family photo should be used for the Christmas cards creates the same dilemma every year. On Thanksgiving day the family gathers, gorges, converses and then smiles again and again for the annual Christmas photo, to be seen by countless families across the United States. Always taken in the same setting, the formal living room, and in the same location, in front of the fireplace, the photos change as the characters change. New clothes, new hairstyles or highlights, even new members make each photo a treasure that is a memorable record of who we were and how we looked.

One year, after countless attempts, the photo was thought to be perfect; the smiles were toothy, the eyes were open, and the characters' positions were organized yet casual, except for me. My green eyes were closed and the picture was ruined. Not to worry, I knew how to use Adobe Photoshop, and Photoshop I did; it became my friend as I changed heads between photos, and airbrushed everyone in the group. Never did six people look so rested and refreshed, until the next year. My adult children were appalled at head switching, never fully appreciating just how difficult it was to get the size, position, everything just right. Behind closed doors the stars in the photo probably applauded just how wonderful they each looked, but I'll never know.

There were eleven takes this year; some were acceptable, three had various sets of closed eyes. Two photos stood out, and after viewing and reviewing those in contention, the official Christmas card has been completed, the cards are in the works, and soon our faces will appear in mailboxes near you. In case you didn't make the list this year, here is the winning photo, we're standing to the left of the Christmas balls. Can you see us? Once the finished cards arrive, I will have them addressed and in the mail in two days -- that's what I do, get things done and move on to the next project. I'm moving on. Photo attribution: somewhat forty plus+