The holiday season is a time to give thanks.

It is an opportunity to give gratitude and to celebrate our lives with loved ones.

It is also a time to reflect on those who can’t be with us.

For me this year, there will be an empty place at my family’s Christmas table.

But I will meet any loss I feel this Christmas with love. In the emptiness there will be tenderness and fullness. For there is always gratitude in the goodbyes.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

The empty place at my Christmas table will simply serve as a reminder of the preciousness of life and how important it is to cherish time with loved ones, to live every moment fully.

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: Nataliekbeats, Flickr