December Daily® 2015 | Day Eighteen

Welcome to  December Daily® 2015 | Day 18. 

I might have been a little overzealous in proclaiming how much better I was feeling yesterday. I was better than the day before, but still not great which equaled more taking it very easy here at home in my bed. 

With that said, I'm keeping it simple. I had printed this special passage (more information below) on vellum last month when someone mentioned it on the Facebook group. Today felt like the right day to include it as part of my story. 

Here's a look at Day 18 from my foundation pages post: 

And here's how it ended up in my album: 

I moved the Day 18 number (chipboard word from the  December Daily® One Little Bird Mini Kit) + silver star onto the gold foil "december" 6x8 page which I trimmed down to 4x6.

Below that I added a photo I took with my self-timer of Sam at the foot of my bed and me on my phone and Anna with an iPad. On top of the photo I added two more silver stars and three word/phrase stickers. I had a hard time getting the color on the photo to be correct, even this black and white is leaning towards blue - embracing it for what it is today. 

The other page I included today is some writing about Christmas by  Sister Joan D. Chittister, I formatted the quote in Photoshop knowing I wanted to use it as a full page and printed it on ink jet vellum. 

Here's the passage written by  Sister Joan D. Chittister:

"Christmas is a strange season. When you're a child, it is a season of presents. When you're young, it's a season of parties. When you get your own home, it's a season of preparations. But when you get older, Christmas changes color drastically. Suddenly, out from behind the advertisements and big dinners, through the haze of old carols and soft candles, past the dazzling altars and sumptuous crib scenes, we begin to see what Christmas is really all about. Christmas is about finding life where we did not expect it to be. Every year of life waxes and wanes. Every stage of life comes and goes. Every facet of life is born and then dies. Every good moment is doomed to become only a memory. Every perfect period of living slips through our fingers and disappears. Every hope dims and every possibility turns eventually to dry clay. Until Christmas comes again. Then we are called at the deepest, most subconscious, least cognizant level to begin to live again. Christmas brings us all back to the crib of life to start over: aware of what has gone before, conscious that nothing can last, but full of hope that this time, finally, we can learn what it takes to live well, grow to full stature of soul and spirit, get it right. There is a child in each of us waiting to be born again. It is to those looking for life that the figure of the Christ, a child, beckons. Christmas is not for children. It is for those who refuse to give up and grow old, for those to whom life comes newly and with purpose each and every day, for those who can let yesterday go so that life can be full of new possibility always, for those who are agitated with newness whatever their age. Life is for the living, for those in whom Christmas is a feast without finish, a celebration of the constancy of change, a call to being once more the journey to human joy and holy meaning." 

For those of you who might be interested in including this particular passage in your own album I saved my 6x8 JPG/PSD/PNG of the file that you can print or adjust (font is  Remington Noiseless).

Download Christmas Season passage here.

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13 thoughts

  1. Mori49 says…
    12/19/2015

    A million thank you'd, Ali, for making it so easy to print Sister Joan's thoughts. I was already pleased that you put it in a class comment but now it's a breeze to include. I think Christmas just heightens one's awareness of the different stages in a life and this expresses it so very well. Get better soon!

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  2. Sumncsu says…
    12/19/2015

    Thank you so much for sharing the quote to print--I loved reading it and find it to be so true. exactly the thoughts that have been fluttering through my head this season. I appreciate you sharing your pages and creativity with us--I am so inspired by you. I hope you get to feeling better and Merry Christmas-

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  3. jchurch2 says…
    12/19/2015

    Thank you so much for sharing this passage with us. It is so true, and the older you get, the more true it seems. I am celebrating my 69th Christmas ...and I do refuse to give up and grow old.

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  4. mtercha says…
    12/19/2015

    Feel better. Love the passage, thank you. Michelle t

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  5. lindahuber says…
    12/20/2015

    Thanks so much for doing the hard part for us! I loved this passage enough that I was ready to start typing, then I saw your link. My husband and I have recently started making our plans for retirement, and this passage really put into words how we were feeling this Christmas. Merry Christmas and feel better soon!

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  6. desertgirl says…
    12/20/2015

    So true for all of us, Ali. Thanks for the quote and for being so honest about this Christmas season. You've taught us to honor daily life, moments seemingly mundane but valuable in their simplicity and in the lessons we must heed. Honoring your need to rest and kick back is really part of the spirit of Christmas. Heal soon.

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  7. JBCarr says…
    12/20/2015

    Oh Ali!! So sorry that you are sick!! Feel better!! xoxo

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  8. jlhufford says…
    12/20/2015

    Ali, So sorry to hear about your ear infection-- they are the WORST! I got them frequently before I went gluten free 3 years ago. One time it kept getting worse even after meds and i had to get a stronger Rx and prednisone. Just thought i would pass that along in case you are not feeling better. (but hopefully you are on the upswing now!) I love watching your album unfold. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  9. platoj says…
    12/20/2015

    I included me in bed on Day 19. I had run myself ragged. I thought it was important to document. FEEL BETTER soon!

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  10. papergoddess says…
    12/21/2015

    Hope you are feeling better! Thank you for sharing that passage, a beautiful way to look at Christmas.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Dneilg says…
    12/21/2015

    Oh no, w
    ere you able to go to Star Wars with Simon? Hope you are on the mend - no fun to be sick this time of year!

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