Day 13.

This one is a semi-quickie. Topic: the present-giving ritual in your family. I substituted some random memories instead, as there really is no ritual.

I'm going to have to curb my "lumpiness" on the remaining pages, because the binder is getting full and I'm only half done! Oh, me.

Day 12.

I did a two-page spread last night for my December 12 entry in my Christmas Journal, because I found two pictures I wanted to use and needed the room.

The topic was sort of a pondering of Christmases past, present, and future, which made me think about the Spirits in A Christmas Carol. I ended up going in a different direction than I had planned earlier in the day, and although the spread is a bit of a mishmash, I got all the important stuff in. Here's the left page:

And the right page, which is an envelope page:

Journaling is on a card in the envelope page, with two more old photos:

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts: Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come.

I dwell a lot on Christmas Past, which is a happy but dangerous place to visit. I pine for times and places that have come and gone, and the sorrow over what is past dims the joy of my Christmas Present.

Christmas Yet to Come I can hardly imagine. I’m afraid it won’t be as happy as times in the past, and yet, each happy Christmas Present was once a Christmas Yet to Come, as they were in these childhood photos. How could I know as a baby and as a child what joy was in store for me? But it was there waiting.

“Joy to the World” is my favorite Christmas carol…joy is the ultimate Christmas present…joy is what I will look for in this Christmas Present and all the Christmases Yet to Come.