This season carries a different weight when someone we love is no longer here to share it.
The lights feel dimmer.
The days feel a little longer.
We just feel heavier.
And the quiet moments bring memories that hit with both love and ache.
If you’re feeling low this Christmas, please know this:
You’re not doing it wrong.
You’re not “behind.”
You’re not supposed to be joyful every minute just because a calendar says so.
You’re human.
You’re grieving.
You’re loving someone who isn’t physically here.
Yet, that love still has somewhere to go…
and it can – back into you.
So this year, care for yourself in the gentlest ways you can:
Sit with a warm drink.
Light a candle for your person.
Wrap yourself in a blanket and let the memories come.
Say their name.
Tell them you miss them.
Feel their closeness in whatever small ways it arrives.
And if your heart is missing someone the way mine misses Ruby…
You’re not alone.
Love doesn’t disappear.
Connection doesn’t end.
Our bonds learn to live differently – we learn a new way.
Be tender with yourself this Christmas.
Your heart is carrying both grief and love, and both deserve space.
Holding both is confusing yet it’s so much needed. I’m right there with you –
I’m holding you in that.
Ruby’s Mama.
xo
Tammy