And I'm on the board!

I just love this picture too much to take it down. Unless something else fun comes to me, it may stay up all month.

Thanks to Mattie's parents---who are always my first card of the season (holla atcha Pat and Henry!)---we have ourselves a tie game.

Dan: 1

Lola: 1

I fear that this contest is going to expose how few holiday cards Dan and I get compared to the rest of you.

Oh well. When baby Solomon is born someday, we'll up our game.

Dan feels very threatened by this competition. He told me that I am mistaken and that I win The Battle Of The Christmas Cards (title pending) every year due to my large extended family. While it's true that my family would beat his family in a tug of war, he has more adult-y friends with kids and everyone knows that it's the child population that brings the numbers up. Also, he has consistently sent out Christmas cards for like 15 years (have I mentioned he's waaaaaaay older than I am?) where as I have been, well, less consistent, so that works for him too. I used to send handwritten cards to the people with whom I wanted to connect around the holidays (like both sides, long-ass letter kind of cards) but eventually e-mailing throughout the year made more sense. Not so romantic, I know, but fuck, I got 'em out. It's family lore---and I think it really happened---that my mom once sent her Christmas cards out right before Easter. Love that lady. The fact that she still sent them...just love her.

Regardless of Dan's excuse-making and boot-shaking--- it's game on! (He tells me he has some tricks up his sleeve too.)

I also want to declare publicly---because I've held this secret in for far too long---that Dan writes and addresses and mails all of our Christmas cards. I choose to no longer be ashamed. He's just better at it and just generally more responsible and efficient than I am. For years and years (starting long before he met me) he's been writing these wonderfully funny Christmas poems that he sends out to all his loved ones (and now mine) and it's gotten to the point that people hold on to them and look forward to getting them each year. He's just so adorable...

...and also so much better than me on so many levels...

...which is why I really need to kick his ass in this contest!

If you send me a card, I promise I'll send you one in return! Er, Dan will. (And not to ruin his fun, but just wait 'til you see what he's come up with this year.) (At some point I'll post it just so those of you who don't want to send me a card---Jerkfaces!---can see.)