THAT time of year....

Yes, folks...it's that time of year again. It's still October, there are still green leaves on the trees near our house, and it's not even Halloween yet. But...my mind is on Christmas....well, some of it is, at least.

This morning I woke at 3:30, got up at 4, and fixed my usual cup of coffee. Then I wandered out to the sun porch where the folding tables are set up for our big family dinners. They currently are loaded from one end to the other with papers, stickers, markers, cutting tool, and other supplies for making my Christmas cards. If I haven't started them by this time each year, there won't be enough for my ever-growing list. When I lived in East Hampton, I made only twenty-five or so, but now that I'm many miles from there, and because we hand-exchange them at our church, my list is much longer.

I try not to duplicate my cards. They may be similar, but like snowflakes, there are no two exactly alike. The design may be the same or similar, but background paper or the message will be different. I'd like each one who receives one of my cards to know that it is made uniquely, otherwise, I could just send one from a store-bought box.

When I was working every day, it was hard to accomplish my ideas as easily as I can now. There would be such pangs within me to make the things I wanted to, that I would often cry with the disappointment that I wasn't allowed to be who I was born to be. With retirement, all that has changed! Hallelujah! I am free to be ME, and at no other time of the year do I appreciate that more than at Christmas time. I create cards and gifts, and feel so fulfilled in doing so!

I've taken long enough with my break for Facebook and Blogging. I'm going back to the sun room now. Watch your mailbox in early December. You just may find one of the fruits of my labor.
Enjoy your day today, being just who you were meant to be!