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With Christmas over and the children back in school, you would think that we could at last sit around eating left-over candy while watching Oprah.

Wrong!

It's 2007 now and it will take us at least a month to get it through our heads and stop writing 2006 on our checks! Is it just me, or does it seem that last year has flown past? Weren’t we just taking DOWN the Christmas decorations from 2005? What happened?

To those of you who do not keep a journal, that question gives one pause. Just what DID happen in 2006? For a year that has 365 days in it, there is a lot to try to conjure up at the spur of the moment. What were you doing in May? February? July? What special moments did you share with a loved one? What did you learn? What made your heart skip a beat, break, smile, grow? We have all experienced so much this last year, but unless we write it down, our lives are in some way lost—not only to ourselves, but to our posterity.

May we suggest that we all take a moment to write down our story of 2006. Have your children/spouse/friends do the same. Choose a night to sit around bundled up in flannel pajamas, hot cocoa in your lap, and share what you have written with your loved ones—and have them do the same.

You will find that this experience can be sweet, funny, touching, as well as eye-opening. Collect what has been written and put it in a 3 ring binder that you can add to each year. We believe that the most cherished gift over the years won’t be the memory of receiving the latest toy or gadget. Instead it will be the time spent with each other, sharing the stories of our lives as we quietly sip cocoa.

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