Keeping the Season Alive

[captainsblog]

The presents have been exchanged, the tree and ornaments will go back into hiding over this coming weekend, and soon we'll be Bonding with Year 007. All in all, we had a nice Christmas season, almost completely free of a lot of the angst of prior years and filled with many happy things. My only regret is, for the first time in years, the Christmas cards didn't go out. Not to family, not to longtime friends, not to the AOL trivia list we've been on for almost a decade (and who, thanks to the patience of a certain bowlingpenguin, we got our usual load of cardlove from this year), and not to Kimmy or Sara or Annie (yours came today- mygarsh you're sweet ::hugs::) from the Flist here.  After some reflection, I resolved not to do a bunch of belated sendings under the heading of New Years cards. Late is late and that is that.

Wait a minute, though. Could I see it instead as a chance to be early? Or more thoughtful than even my prior years' cards have been?

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Part One of this idea came last night: to dispense with the Midnight Mass Mailing of holiday cards and to replace it with a year-round effort to make more of an effort to stay in touch with those we love. Our cardlist has been ranging from 40 to 50 for recent years; so, why not send one a week? And instead of just a few lines inside each card, or a mass-produced newsletter to everyone, make each one really speshul, with a labor-of-love writing in, on or around each, plus whatever other enclosures would seem fitting for the recipient? Yours might be a mix-CD, or a piece of Emily art, or a particularly funny humor piece suited to a subject we share. One a week is doable. I'll even reopen the Old Captainsblog Mailbag by taking one more set of requests via comment on this entry (with screened comments and all) if anyone who hasn't either sent a card or requested one wants to do so now.

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Do, however, read on for the second part of the story.

As my multiple entries have perhaps hinted, I was quite taken by the Baby Jesus Chronicles. I'm sure more pictures have popped up from His travels. Still, rather than merely appreciating those efforts, it occurred to me this morning that I could begin a similar venture to keep the Christ Child out of the crawlspace in the attic in my own way.

So it will be that, when the recipient gets the weekly card, he, she or they will also get an artist's original 8-by-10 color glossy photograph of the Baby Jesus-

- shown in somewhat reduced form here. It's from a site called jesusmosaics.com, and if you look carefully, you'll see it's made up of hundreds of smaller classic depictions of Madonna and/or Child.

Since I'll be providing the 8-by-10 color glossy photograph, the recipients will be asked to provide the circles and arrows. In other words, to do something to, on or with the Baby Jesus- a sticker from a local attraction; an autograph on His "yearbook picture;" a photograph posing Him with something or someone interesting; or just a separate written reflection on what you think of It, Him, or my definite lower-case sanity.  A post-paid return envelope will be provided to each recipient (foreign addresses may take some work on this point, but I'm willing to work something out with International Reply Coupons if Baby Jesus doesn't put on more than 20 grams of weight). If demand requires it, a backup Baby Jesus may be photoshopped and put into circulation.

Naturally, there will be a year-end report on all this- my own Book of Second Chronicles, if you will. It may become our 2007 Christmas card, or we may do the same not-so-damn thing in 2008.

So come join us. No prior religious experience required, and ye need not be born again to enter or leave this particular Kingdom.

Comments

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

those seem like really cool ideas! :)

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

Your address I've already got. So hmmmmm.... what would Mel do?

(a) Bury him at a dig and confuse the hell out some Sumerian archaeologists

(b) Ship him with Rodney

(c) Send his photo to Matt Millen and pray the Lions start Him at quarterback

(d)_________________

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

a) is entirely possible. b) is improbable in the extreme, given that I despise ship, slash, and so on. c) wouldn't help, since Millen would just trade him for a draft pick.

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

And he'd probably just pick yet another injury-prone wide receiver with it.

We feel your pain.