It’s hard to believe I have been doing this December project for more than twenty years. When it started it was just tiny envelopes with words that had to do with light. They were made as a gift for my daughter. I plopped them on my scanner with some painted paper as a background to create a quick image. I handed one to her each morning as an ad hoc advent calendar. I began to send those scanned images to friends and a mailing list began to build. The following year Warren, always the great archivist, printed out each image email combo to bring with us to New York to share with his parents who were not on-line. I remember clearly, the bags were packed by the front door and Zoë saw a plastic binder with images and text. She immediately sat down on a duffel bag and read all twenty-one messages. When we began to pack the car she said, “I didn’t know there was writing that went with the images.”

Each year as I begin, Warren, my editor for both photos and words, wishes I could get a running start. But I never seem to be able to plan it out– this is really a response to the season. I am never sure I have anything to say or a quote to share. But then it gets dark so early and the month shifts to December and I have to learn all over again how to appreciate the dark. As I relearn, I research, and I find new ways to appreciate the early sunset and the long hours of darkness. I find myself taking photos once again, writing and looking for poems or quotes to shed light on this season.

Here’s a link to those original word tickets.