Here we are nine days into December. December for me has always been full of wonderful things.Thirty four years ago on December 5th Burton and I became parents for the first time to a beautiful baby boy Zachary Leverett White 8lbs 14ozs. What joy that baby brought with him. For years afterwards his birthday started off a month of family , friends and celebration filled with traditions that became so important to our growing family. Those traditions became more important but so challenging in 1999 when we had to face our first Christmas without Zac. Some of the following years, December was excruciating and we carefully negotiated our way around some of those traditions changing some and letting some go.I remember the feeling of holding my breath and determinedly getting through the season with relief coming after all the hype was over on January 2nd. Now thirteen years later I face the month with a quiet melancholy ,fervently hanging on to the memories and being very careful to concentrate on the parts of the celebration that fill me up . I don’t feel the same desperation to get it over with. I will take each December day and enjoy what I have been given. I will enjoy my warm and cosy home,my health,the people I am blessed to have in my life, the gift of my office and writing time. I look forward to editing my third book and getting it ready for a May release.I will celebrate getting another year older on Boxing day.Listening this morning to Stephanie Mainville’s rendition of Gordie Sampson’s song Get me Through December I am extremely grateful that getting through December is something I look forward to not something I dread.