Dear Eye View
I’m a single, never-married 44-year-old woman. I love getting fold-out holiday cards that include multiple pictures of friends and family every year, because you can see how their kids are growing up. I don’t have any kids, so I borrowed my niece and nephew (and used some pictures of my dog) to put together my own holiday card. However, another single woman friend said I was wrong to use my niece and nephew because people only want to see your own kids. Am I out of line for taking holiday pictures with nieces and nephews? I’m not pretending they’re mine.
—Bewildered Auntie
Dear Bewildered,
I understand your concern. You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the holiday greeting card. It is not sent out as documentation of one’s fecundity. If you’ve already ordered up the card you describe, sure, go ahead and send it. But make sure you sign each one with something like, “Best wishes from Karen Keegan (and niece Isabelle and nephew Jake).” You do not want to give the impression to people who don’t closely keep up with you that you have somehow acquired an instant family. But going forward, let go of the idea of borrowing children unless you have a massive drug deal in the works. Hope this helps.
EV
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Moody Eye View 
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