The Friendship is Really Over When You Stop Sending a Holiday Card
My husband and I recently went over our address list for holiday cards. Unbelievably, we still keep track of our addresses on our original, now tattered wedding invite list. (We got married 13 years ago.)
Yup, while the rest of you have gone high tech and easily print out your addresses on labels, we are still combing through a list which includes who bought our 5 speed blender and our never used wine decanter. Then we write out each address on the envelopes. It’s very old school.
As we perused the list, we came to one family and stopped. Neither of us can remember the last time we talked to or saw this family. It’s been years. No emails or texts either. Not even a Facebook like. So did we really need to keep politely trading holiday cards once a year? What was the purpose? At some point, you cut the cord.
And we decided, this was the year! They are off The List.
And the very next day their Christmas card arrived.
It was one of those fancy ones too. On heavy card stock. With their gleaming, festive children staring at us. Through their beaming smiles, I was sure those children were judging us. How could we be so cruel as to not send them a card this year? We ordered plenty of them.
My husband and I had another discussion. We should remain strong! We aren’t friends with these people anymore. Fancy card stock or not. It’s silly to keep doing this. We would not cave.
AÂ reciprocal card went out this morning. Yes, we caved. The tradition lives on!
So how do you end a relationship based on holiday cards alone? Or do we just keep doing this until we get so senile, we truly don’t remember who these people are anymore?!
There is a part of me that has trouble letting go of people, even when there is really nothing left to hold on to. So for now, we keep this friendship alive. Â Living on holiday card life support.
