Christmas Cards

I don't do Christmas cards.
It seems a little odd, considering the signing, addressing and mailing of the Christmas cards was a yearly ritual for my parents.
My mother kept a running list of friends and acquaintances, updating it annually with address changes and to include new people who had sent cards the year before.
When I was little, my parents and I would sit at the kitchen table one evening a week or two before Christmas. They signed the cards and addressed the envelopes and it was my job to lick and seal the envelope and affix a 3¢ stamp and a Christmas Seal to it.
The cards had varied themes - religious and secular - and I remember a few years when they favored Currier & Ives images because they thought they looked classy.
My parents never went in for long "Christmas letters" like some folks enclose with their cards.
My first wife and I did Christmas cards sporadically. I remember making photo cards for two or three years.
I guess she thought it was a good idea because she and her new husband still send cards. I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it's because I'm cheap or because I think it's archaic or maybe I'm just lazy.
Some years, I compose an e-mail Christmas card with an appropriate photo and message and maybe a brief synopsis of the high points of my year, like a new granddaughter or Maria being named editor or me riding a zillion motorcycle miles. I do usually reply to e-mailed Christmas greetings I receive, but mostly I let it all slide by.
I admit to a faint twinge of guilt when I open the mailbox and find a fistful of Christmas cards from folks who won't get one from us. I take comfort in the thought that they toss their cards into the postal stream without any expectation of a return card - just the knowledge that they've sent greetings to friends and relatives.
So let this serve as my Christmas card to the world. It was cheap and it was easy and it didn't involve any 37¢ stamps. By the way, the first class postage rate jumps to 39¢ on Jan. 8.