Christmas Card time

I know, most of you are thinking: "isn't it early for Christmas cards?". But 13 November is my date, the date after which I feel I can mail Christmas cards without seeming ridiculous. (to me, I mean. I'm sure other people still view this as ridiculous).

Actually, I already mailed two out, last week, but they're going overseas, so that doesn't count. And, in fact, overseas shipping, along with my almost obsessive delight in writing a personal message on each of our 50+ cards, is why I start so early.

In my younger days, we lived overseas, and we had to mail cards out in October or so to ensure that they arrived before Christmas. Seriously. The postal system was that slow, for some reason. Most kids actually didn't receive many of their Christmas gifts on Christmas, either. Almost everything was catalog-ordered (this is just before the dawn of the internet), and if your mom didn't place that order by August, you'd get the photocopy of the order sheet under the tree. The first day of school after Christmas went like this:
"What did you get?"
"I got a NES!!! But my mom didn't order in time, so we're waiting for it to come in the mail."

One time, shortly after the Gulf War, the military post office actually called the bomb squad over, and they destroyed a suspicious package, only to discover it was some kid's Christmas NES. In March.

So, see, my Christmas paranoia has basis in real-life adventures. Remember that when you get your Christmas card on Thanksgiving.