It’s a hot topic on social media. The time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve/ Day. We don’t quite know what to do with ourselves. Presents have been exchanged. Holiday food has been eaten. Families have gone their separate ways. The hustle and bustle of shopping has ended. It all feels like a blur.

This year felt odd. Family came down to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday, and we just celebrated Christmas with them at that time. A week later, we were traveling to visit again, since my Dad was recovering from illness and couldn’t be with us on Thanksgiving.

So, by the time Christmas actually got here, it became a pretty quiet one. It was nice, but it allowed for too much time to reflect, and miss, the Christmases I had as a child.

I come from a very large family. We are Irish on my mother’s side, so we were many and we were loud. Always fun. Christmas morning was for church, which always felt warm and sweet. When we came home, we opened more presents and then the family came over for Christmas dinner. Those were the days!

Over the years, we’ve lost members; some moved away. The two who made the holidays festive and filled with love and warmth were my mother and her sister, my wonderful aunt. We lost them both a month apart from each other and then everything changed.

I know that many families have found ways to start their own traditions and make memories with their own, new families and kids. I feel like I’m still trying to capture the magic I once knew. I’m not sure how to do that. My kids are still around me, but they’ve all grown and the Christmas morning excitement is gone.

Perhaps next year we’ll do something different and large. Maybe I can’t capture the magic I remember as a youth, but maybe there is new magic and I just need to find it. I have hope!

And I have Jesus, without whom the reason for the season is just void. He gave us the greatest gift of all and it is, to this day, unmatched. In this, I find true warmth, love and comfort.

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas, if you celebrate it. May peace, love and comfort be yours.