Little Rituals

One more year has slipped by before I managed to quite get ahold of it, and here I am preparing to make a grab for 2011.

This time of year I try-- really try-- to at least get cards in the mail to everyone who has made a postivie contribution to my life over the year. If I find myself with the time, the cards, and the postage left over-- I try to include as many people as I can who have left an endearing impression on me, even if I haven't seen them in several years.

This process of choosing my cards each year, hand addressing each envelope, and carefully writing a short message to each recipient is one of very few rituals that I partake in on a regular basis.

I take the whole process ridiculously seriously, actually. Taking a moment to seriously consider each person; who they are, how they have affected my life, how I feel about them and why I am sending them this card as I write out my message to them and sign my name.

Mostly, people in my life just sneer at me and accuse me of making them look bad because getting around to sending out cards each year has fallen by the wayside in the rush of modern life; one of those things that we all would like to do, but never get around to.

But I can't practically purchase gifts for everyone who deserves one. The least I can do is hope to dedicate a tiny moment to seriously think of each of these people and, hopefully, convey to them that I did take that moment just for them-- to think of them, to let them know that I think of them for more than just that one moment each year. I hope each person on my list understands that they really are important to me-- and worth putting aside the tedious demands of daily life and hectic holiday stress, to write something sincere.