The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~ Burton Hillis

The following is a letter to the ones I love and never showed it enough.  You know who you are.

Dearest friends,

There is no such thing anymore as an “original thought”.  So though I may seek to astound you with profound insight upon the subject of Christmas, I know the best I may accomplish is to put into words what is true in my heart and hope that they will touch you.

From the time we were small children, we have learned from Charlie Brown and the Grinch (who stole Christmas) what Christmas is really about.  It’s not the presents or the tree; the lights or the songs; it’s not even getting extra time off of school/work to sleep in.  Christmas is about sharing with those dear to you the joy of having remained united as family and friends in this crazy painful beautiful life for yet another year.  It is a celebration of relationships and the bonds that hold them together.  

And it is for this reason why today did not feel like Christmas.

To clarify, I am not trying to amass a pity party for myself with this statement - in all honesty I feel happy as I write this post.  But the fact remains that Christmas is not simply a date marked on a calendar - It is a state of being.  Of being with the friends that have seen you through the various obstacles of life and who did their best to soften it’s blows.  I have met some fantastic people here in France, and I feel our relationships will last long after I return in the summer.  But they are not you.  And that makes all the difference.

This year I was presented the fantastic opportunity to experience Christmas from an outsider’s point of view, and because of this I value the specialness of the event and what elements make it so in a way I never have before.  I am truly grateful that you make up a part of my life, and I have realized that all I want for Christmas is, to quote Juno, “be an interesting piece of furniture in your weird life.”

So yeah, that’s my awful mushy gushing of the year over with.  Merry Christmas everyone, best wishes and charms for the upcoming year, and take care of yourselves till I get back and we can hang. :)