December 2011: I wonder to myself: “Where is that time I thought I had before…  You know of what I speak, I’m certain. Add to that The Christmas Season with its true meaning and its expectations of family gatherings, and soon I’m overwhelmed with activities.

We had our Montera Christmas very early this year to accommodate our grown/growing children. Our father, 93 in good health, was here; an added blessing. This longstanding tradition is a Christmas Gift in the truest sense of those words. An opportunity to bring the past and the future together; compliments of our children and grandchildren. I sometimes wonder if they need us any longer; well, until they smile or stop to hug me for no particular reason. It is then I recognize that tiny tot I held so long ago still exists in my deepest remembrance. It’s also a reminder to me that my “Bucket List” becomes less and less of a joke and more of an intent. That Old Father Time tracks us as much as love and fear and joy and sorrow.

During a brief spell in the festivities, my nephew Christopher helped “cast” me deeper into social media. A place I needed to go, but without his parachute it would have been suicidal to do on my own. So, here is my pitch: Check out my Blog; Novel Prelude; Writers: Facebook; Technorati; you get the idea. It is a great feeling to know enough to generate new works and also to acknowledge that I should not exceed my knowledge of the moment.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You” was the verse that was shown on the first commercially available Christmas card in 1843. Christmases had been merry long before that though. The use of ‘Merry Christmas’ as a seasonal salutation dates back to at least 1565, when it appeared in The Hereford Municipal Manuscript.” An artifact that reminds me, as does Father Time, that traditions are the fabric of life around the world…Janet