Domestic Psychology

The case FOR holiday cards

// December 5th, 2011 // 3 Comments » // holidays, mail

All year long, I use email, SMS and social networks to communicate with people. I leave a lot of digital footprints, but nothing that would survive a terrible magnet attack. The exception is the card that I mail every Christmas season. Since I have read several anti-card posts this week, I am going to attempt to explain why I am pro-cards.

1. Making the card is a memory that I treasure. While photographing this year’s card, one of the children declared that their arms were going to fall off their body. Doug and I spontaneously stopped what we were doing, extended our arms to our sides and made little circles. “Now, spin counter-clockwise.” Every card we make has stories.

2. The picture is a snapshot of a moment in time that captures a year of growth, personality and relationships. Someday, I hope that the children look back and notice their older sibling interacting with them in the card pictures. I see the changes from year to year as I learn what does and does not work when photographing a diverse group of children.

3. Christmas cards are one of the only pieces of mail that are neither junk nor bills. Remember when mail actually brought letters and cards? That kind of excitement at the arrival of the mail carrier is something that is almost extinct.

4. Mail is an endangered species. It will cease to exist in my lifetime. I will celebrate the nostalgia of the USPS for as long as it exists. When it goes away, so will Christmas cards.

5. Christmas cards from other people are contributions to our holiday decor. Serious, silly and other images that make our Christmas more diverse, colorful and nostalgic.

6. Cards from years past move old memories out of pine needle littered boxes and into the present. Babies that are now teenagers, friends that have moved far away and loved ones who have left us are temporarily with us again. It’s important to remember.

7. Christmas cards make me happy. Everyone needs more happy.

I get mail

// August 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // mail, me

Dear Cathy,

I am not a desk, filing cabinet or crayon box. I am not a bathroom drawer or medicine cabinet. I am not a camera bag, computer bag, book bag or Kindle case. I am not a toy box. You are asking too much of me. I can only take so much abuse before I break. Please stop hurting me.

Love anyway,
Your purse

Dear cell phone service provider,

// May 25th, 2009 // 9 Comments » // mail, technology, teenagers

We’ve been together for a very long time. I really don’t ask for a lot from you. In exchange for almost never hearing from me, we have FIVE phones and pay you an exorbitant amount of money. It’s time for you to start providing some useful services in exchange for that hefty bill. I want, no, I NEED you to create a parental control features for cell phones that is modeled after the WoW parental controls. I want to be able to go in at any time and change the schedule of when my teenagers’ cell phones can be used. That’s not all I want need. I need to be able to control specific functions on the phone, like sending calls, receiving calls and most importantly, texting. I should be able to completely turn off texting from midnight until 6 a.m. I should be able to turn off all incoming/outgoing calls except 911 and me during school hours. I should be able to change my mind about these settings any time of day or night. In fact, I think that anytime a teenager’s phone goes over 10K text msgs in a single month, you should send a text count message to my phone. I’m not kidding. Let’s get this set-up going right now.

Thanks,
Cathy

The Easter candy is gone already?

// April 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // food, holidays, mail, me

Dear Nestle aka Wonka,

Just like every year, I help the Easter Bunny by picking a bag or two of whatever candy happens to be on sale each week before Easter. This year, I ended up with one bag of Wonka Runts Freckled Eggs. I didn’t realize the incredible taste sensation that is a Runts Egg until my children had devoured all but a few of the sweet/sour crunchy-fruity delights. I went to three different stores today in hopes of finding a leftover bag and there were none to be found. It seems that everyone else already knew how yummy Runts Eggs are were. If there are any Runts eggs rolling around the factory floor under the conveyor belt, please sweep them up and send them to me. I don’t mind the dust.

Thank you,
Cathy

Christmas Cards

// December 7th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // holidays, mail

After a few hundred tweets of complaint, I finally have Christmas Cards ordered. Now, I just need your snail mail address. Please take a millisecond and e-mail me your address. Thank you!

Amy the party planner

// October 26th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // holidays, kid quotes, mail

Dear Sarah,

// September 29th, 2008 // No Comments » // mail, parenting, teenagers

Dear healthy, able-bodied, teenage daughter,

If you want to go to the mall after school, please put one foot in front of the other and get yourself there instead of waiting until I drive all the way over to the school and asking for a ride to the mall.

Kthxbai.
Mom

morning e-mail

// August 8th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // food, mail, parenting

Cathy –
Is there any food that all of the children will eat other than chicken nuggets?
Mom

Mom –
Tommy eats almost anything. He won’t eat tomatoes or brussel sprouts.
Sarah eats white foods. Chicken, pasta and bread. No fruits or veges.
Noah eats meat and ketchup.
Amy eats most foods, but is leaning closer to Sarah’s white diet daily.
Evan nibbles almost anything, if it’s on someone else’s plate.
I can’t think of anything they all eat except chicken. It doesn’t have to be nuggets.
Cathy

PS – Pizza. They all eat pizza.

just wondering

// February 1st, 2008 // 1 Comment » // mail

When you get an e-mail that was sent to a thousand people about something that is an urban legend and you reply only to the sender, but never see a correction sent to the other 999 people, do you think your link to snopes was ignored?

Dear Mr. Abrams,

// January 21st, 2008 // 2 Comments » // mail, television

Please do not end LOST the way you ended Cloverfield. I don’t need answers for all of the questions about the island and it’s residents. I do need for all of the struggle and personal growth to matter. Reaching self-actualization only to accept premature death just can’t be the resolution for all of the characters that you have carefully nurtured into real, flawed human beings. No anti-Hollywood endings on this one.

Eagerly anticipating Star Trek,
Cathy