Prologue

This prologue page was the original scrapbook page that I had created solely for my son and daughter. This is obvious by the hand edit of the comma after the word “small” and is kept this way in the scrapbook as a reminder of a simpler time. Our home was not much to look at in 1988, with the black tar paper as part of its exterior. I remember when Colin and Kiera were about to graduate from highschool and I asked them what they would like for a gift. Colin said he would like it if we got carpeting on the floor and Kiera asked that we paint our house any colour but black. Times were tough for us back then. We had no family financial support from parents and had to make it on our own, which was a struggle at best on a teacher’s salary. However, as time passed, even though money was never abundant, things got easier to manage somehow. The small white cabin has changed over time, although remnants of the original cabin exist in the renovated home. Colin, Kiera, Cole and Alana have all graduated from university and have careers and precious children of their own. The Christmas Eve tradition of the Santa Smoke Letter ceremony has not changed. The participants have altered, as well as the locations in which the ceremony is enjoyed but the tradition continues and expands. The magic of that special night, many years earlier, remains strong with the four original children, now adults. As a result of that night they hold fast to the tradition of Santa Smoke Letter Ceremony and continue to share the joy of the even with their own children. I have included some photos here of the original scrapbook