Quite frankly, the title of this spread is sarcasm. None of us feel jolly by any stretch of the imagination. It is what it is. The three weekends of Christmas Lighting Festival is torture, plain and simple. The three ladies you see pictured from left to right are, Jean, Tammy and Lori. Jean and her husband own two stores in town. Tammy and Lori kindly fill in during festival weekends in the store I work in. They have other full-time jobs in their real life. We COULD NOT do it without them. I love these ladies! We are the A-Team! Having said all that, I wanted the spread to look cheery and with the spirit of the season.

Journaling First Page:
They just kept coming and kept coming with no let up. This year we shattered records. 15,000 people show up each weekend to watch the buildings and trees in the park across the street lit up, this year it was 30,000 in a two block area. The weekends were incredibly brutal this year and we just wanted it over and done with so we could crawl away and lick our wounds. Christmas has become a hated endurance contest with all of the spirit of the season rung out of us.

We call ourselves the A-Team. We have to be, we wont let them win. I am so grateful for Tammy and Lori that help Jean and I these horrifying weekends. We usually make these festival weekends fun, having a lot of laughs together, but this year there was no breathing room to give ourselves the gift of laughter.

Journaling Second Page:
After the lighting ceremony I stepped out back into the bitter cold for some peace and quiet, it was a welcome change from the noise and demands of the store. By the third weekend of this madness, I was screaming inside. I just wanted as far away from it all as possible. After my shift, what would normally be a 10 minute commute home, takes between 30 to 45 minutes in the heavy traffic. Home to Maxwell. He greets me at the door and all seems right with the world again in the fog of exhaustion.

Project Template Album No. 2ProjectTemplateAlbumNo.2
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Holiday WordART Mix No. 4HolidayWordARTMixNo.4
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