2006-12-13
christmas cards
|On the way to the post office yesterday I really irritated a woman driving a white SUV. She was heading south on Catalpa and I was waiting at a red light to turn right so I, too, could head south on Catalpa. Since there was plenty of room betwixt us I turned ahead of her and headed on my merry way. She was at least 100 feet behind me.
As I glanced in my rearview mirror I noticed she was flooring it to catch up behind me. She then proceeded to tail me all the way to the post office. I guess it fulfilled her need to punish me. I'm glad I could help her dispense with some of her anger issues during this most joyous of holiday seasons. Happy Birthday, Jesus!
I did have a chance to check her out while I was waiting at the next light to turn left. To my surprise, she was a 50 to 60-something woman with salt and pepper hair eating some type of sandwich. The manner in which she held the food item is what led me to believe she was eating a sandwich and not a donut or a muffin.
She was holding it, while stopped at the light, with both hands kind of like a squirrel would hold a nut while obsessively gnawing at it. I thought that was strange since usually driving a vehicle requires at least one hand on the steering wheel. When I multi-task in the car, I choose a food item that requires but one hand, such as a bagel or a cup of coffee. It would seem that she had to set the sandwich down on the passenger's seat while driving, since the steering wheel requires at least one hand. And that seems like a high-maintenance food item to me.
But anyway, I lost her at the post office and was able to drop the rest of our Christmas cards into the mail box to spread cheer to our friends and family.
Speaking of Christmas cards, my husband and I have an unspoken agreement that cards from my side of the family are left for me to open and cards from his side of the family are left for him to open. It seems fair to both of us.
It is during this holiday season that I curse my family and friends daily as I walk back from the mail box. At least 80 percent of our Christmas greetings come from my husband's friends and family.
I'll admit it. As a stay-at-home mother getting the mail is one of the high points of the day. (The main high point being nap time.) So when I flip through the bills and junk mail my heart leaps a bit to see a colored envelope that is not standard size.
Invariably, however, the return address lets me know this holiday greeting will be delayed until 6:30 pm.
2006-12-13 at 6:44 a.m.
