good karma cards
A wise old aunt once told me that if I ever overheard someone saying something bad about me, it was probably something I needed to hear. I took this to heart and listened intently to see what people were saying. Lucky for me, I never really heard anything. I took this to mean that I didn’t need to learn any hard lessons and that everybody liked me. But it could just be that I have really bad hearing.
Well, lately I heard something and it stung to me the quick. Yikes. I’ve been mulling it over in my head like a pebble in my shoe that I just can’t shake out. Why must I waste so much brain power on some little insult that was probably just said in passing and never meant to hurt me? The thing is, it was said about Baby Bug. What was said was totally untrue and mostly harmless but it got the mama bear in me growling and I’m learning a lot about myself.
Who knew kids could bring this out in me? I feel like I’m back in first grade and the big kids are picking on me. I’m so ready to fight the baby insulter at the bike racks, it’s not even funny. I have never ever been so protective and competitive about anything as I am about my child. I know it’s survival instinct and probably necessary so that I can take the best care of Baby Bug possible but I never realized it would turn me into an evil seething tomahawk wielding banshee. Do banshees wield tomahawks? Anyway, you get the picture. I’m not sure this is the lesson I need to learn here but it is hard for me. I’m just not the happy-go-lucky little daisy I used to be.
And because I think I should chase all negative with positive, I have a present for you! A downloadable Christmas card! Woo Hoo! I was going to sell these (there are a series, just to keep you coming back) but I couldn’t get my act together to get them printed in time. So I’m giving them away. Because I can! Because I need some good karma! Because this is the website where you get more! Whatever.
Thanks for reading, dudes. Here you go. Grab yourself some nice quality card stock, print, cut, fold and viola! a free christmas card! Now you just need an envelope, an A6 should do it.
24 Comments
Scarlett
aaawwww, thank you so much for the card! you’re so sweet and thoughtful, you definitely should have good karma.
whatever it is anybody might have said about you or the baby bug, they would just have to be mean, spiteful, jealous people possibly because ya’ll are the sweetest!
sometimes i’m shocked when people say the darndest things, but i’m glad you’re not takin it to heart.
hugs to you and your huggable little bug!
motherbumper
thank you for the card SAJ – I love your blog because you are creative, thoughtful and always positive (well 99.99% of the time ;). You have a beautiful girl and it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be blogging today. Cheers and hugs for you and the bug.
jennie
You better believe I’d buy a series of your Christmas cards in a heartbeat! Maybe they’ll be available in ’07???
Kristine
That card is adorable! I know EXACTLY what you mean about those crazy mother-instincts. Since Andrea was (and still is – LOL) bi-racial, I got SO vigilant and hypersensitive regarding everything about black people when she was born. The world has racism in it, yet I was unable to handle it at that time. Every item on the news, every racist thing I’d ever heard in the PAST was directed at my baby! And even though of course I still think racism is wrong and loathe it, those intense waves of PROTECT! PROTECT! PROTECT! calmed down to just regular waves that you get used to living with. (No, they don’t ever go away). ;)
Angella
Beautiful card! You’d make a killing! And nothing wrong with the Momma Bear instinct – it’s there for a reason :)
BeachMama
I would much rather support you and buy your cards than the ones I get at the big box stores. I do like to send a photo so if you do make them next year keep it in mind ;).
As for Karma, you have great karma. It is really hard to hear people make comments about your kids and not want to scream and yell at them or at least tell them where to go. I have turned the other cheek a few times while in line at a store, the one day your kid throws a tantrum and screams at you, everybody has an opinion. Thankfully, those days are few and far between, unfortunately you don’t see the same people everyday. Just being the kind, thoughtful person that you are will shine through in Baby Bug for many years to come.
gretchen
I would buy your cards too. Maybe next year.
And who could say anything bad about ANY baby? Especially Baby Bug? I can’t fathom it.
jailgy
Do you know what the Romans called a pebble in the shoe? A scrupula. It’s where we get the word scruples. They both make one walk carefully.
Bethany
jailgy, that is totally interesting. Thanks for the education!
SAJ, the card is totally cute. Thank you for sharing! And try not to worry about what people say about Baby Bug, especially when you know it’s untrue. No one really knows what goes on in a family except the people who are in it. You know Baby Bug is perfect in every way, and that’s what matters. :-)
Before I had my daughter, a friend of mine used to say kind of matter-of-factly that of course her kids were perfect. She said it in a way that invited laughter, so I usually laughed and agreed with her–and her kids were pretty great. But what I didn’t understand at the time was that she was, in a way, totally serious. After my perfect daughter came along, I understood those comments better.
Bethany
Pardon me, three “totallys” in a single comment. I must be channeling my inner Valley Girl today.
MamaPajama
Ooooo! I love it when you talk printing. Just today I had a conversation with a salesman ordering 50M #11 window envelopes, machine insertable straight seam.
Eralynn
beautiful cards! I abolutely adore them! good job.
Jennifer
Love the cards, thank you! I remember the first time I heard somebody say something downright cruel about my 4 year old. She was 4 months old at the time and in a helmet to correct head flattening. I went home and cried for a while. I hate to say it, but my skin hasn’t gotten any thicker when it comes to my kids. I guess it’s just part of the job. Glad you’re working through the incident in such a positive way :)
Ninotchka
but I never realized it would turn me into an evil seething tomahawk wielding banshee.
That’s a hilarious visual.
Sorry about the rude comment you overheard. I don’t think I subscribe to your Aunt’s line of thinking. There’s constructive criticism and then there’s rudeness. I believe there’s not too fine a line between the two. And there’s really no room for rudeness and meanness amongst adults. And when it concerns our kids. OOOOH. Not cool.
Chin up, Happy Little Daisy! The Christmas card is adorable. As are you. :)
Lisa
thanks for the card art! and easier said than done, but try to ignore the rude comment. and that’s what i think it probably was…rude. if someone has something to say to you, they should say it to your face…let everything else just fly away like the wind.
Tamara
Merry Christams to you. Thanks for the cute card. I will keep it next to your Paris postcard. Paris, yay! I am going. A 60th birthday gift from husband. Quite the surprise. Quite the gift. He hates to fly. LOL
rachel
I can’t imagine how anyone could ever say anything negative about your baby. She’s so cute and funny and interesting…at least in blog-form. :)
lolita blahnik
Thanks for the card!!
and don’t worry about what people say!!!!
Sistina
What the hell kind of person could insult a baby? You know she’s perfect, we know she’s perfect. That should be all that matters, but I know I’d be breaking a few kneecaps too…
They should know better than to poke a bear.
Not That Old Nor Certainly That Wise
It is my belief that nothing in the christian’s life is random. If it was allowed that I hear gossip against me, I can do one of two things; believe it and crumble-looking inward at myself, or leave the talker, incident, and truth with God. He knows the truth about me, and it is Him alone I need to please. Of course I could retaliate, reciprocate, or perpetuate the cycle, none of which gives anything but a temporary (and damaging) boost. Bless you Jo. Learn nobility from the pain, leave the final analysis with Him. Look Up and Go On.
nina
SAJ, what a delightful card!
Thank you for sharing your talent with us.
You ARE a very good mother. In fact, I was thinking of you this morning. I read about your Thanksgiving trip and you know how you wanted to show Baby Bug the horse but didn’t want to get too close?
You were so right in just looking!!!
I keep a horse, work with other horses and you would not believe how many people are walking up to the boarding facility to let their children touch and feed strange horses. And some of them are kickers and biters. (The horses, not the children).
I see those people and think…oooh, I wish that they had more sense. Like SAJ.
ms. sizzle
thanks for the card!
what your aunt said IS wise and it’s got me thinking…
thevelveteentoad in vegas
Interesting idea from your aunt. Perhaps it has some truth to it. Remember when we were in college 300 years ago and living in our Tanglewood apartment? You left the apartment and accidentally left your computer on, which was just too tempting to pass by without reading what was on the screen. It was a letter to someone and it contained a few very harsh Bethany Criticisms. Harsh indeed. But true also. It hurt to read it. But I think maybe it would have hurt even more, eventually, to NOT read it. We BOTH cried that night, but the night ended in I love yous and warm best friend hugs.
josephine
I do remember. And I still regret writing those words, though I’ve long forgotten what they were.