Post of Christmas Past # 5 – The Missing Gift

Ah, the missing gift. Christmastime, a sad reminder that once again there will be a certain To: and From: gift nametag missing from under the tree. A present that no longer finds its way on Santa’s list. A gift we most likely have asked for every year since. It is one of the hardest things about the holidays for me. Though, I learned a long time ago not to dwell on that when it came to thinking of the people that are no longer a part of my life. Instead, I started to think of all the memories I have of them and no matter what, they will always be a part of my life that way. That will never be lost.

I think our hearts become their most vulnerable around this time of year. How can it not be? This is a magical time with a lot of attachment to a lot of things. There are so many memories surrounding the holidays, and the muscle memory of lost love is extra hard during Christmas. Crippling to some. Losing even an ounce of what someone brought into your life can bring pain that will steal every bit of Christmas spirit if we allow it to. We have to focus real hard on what makes us happy and to try our best to make sure we don’t lose ourselves at the same time. That’s not really fair to the loved ones we still have around us. They are probably feeling the same way right now about you. Feeling like they have lost you as well and hurt just as much thinking that you’re spending Christmas broken-hearted.

Since I have changed my mindset when it comes to loss and Christmastime, I have been in a much better place in my heart and my soul. Life can provide challenges sometimes and we get the hard lessons at the worse possible times. Life sucks that way. But there’s still a lot of happiness out there for you to capture with your loved ones watching over you the whole time. So, go ahead and have your moments. That’s OK. We should take as many moments as we need for them. Go on and let it all out…cry. Only, make sure those are tears of joy, Christmas joy. Because if they knew we felt that way because they were gone, they would most likely remove that gift we’re missing right now and replace it with coal. Hehe!

Until…