The family is gone, the wrapping tossed, the gifts stowed with gratitude. Naps have been taken. Work has resumed.

Milk no longer has to be sought out at gas stations in the cold rain, enduring long lines .

Life has resumed as usual.

But not quite.

Curled beside me on the floor is a brown puppy, sleeping while I write.

Memories curl around me too. Smiles and jokes linger. The adventure of trying to squeeze too many people into one car to see “The Hobbit” together will be remembered in story if not song.

Gifts I can touch hold warm thoughts of those I cannot.

Too little time together. Some leaving early. Some lingering but none staying long enough.

We have all set out on our separate journeys to next Christmas, not knowing what the year will bring. Or who.

This past year brought some major changes to our family. Every year does, but the most recent year always seems the most important. Only time will tell such things.

While things have changed, we prefer to frame it as growth, always moving forward, looking ahead. We are wired that way for a reason.

It is my hope, for my family and yours, that the coming year will bring the courage to face it as last year did.

But hope is not enough.

I mean to write the future with what pen and talent I’ve been given. I mean to create the life we see next Christmas with what strength and opportunity God gives.

I look forward to seeing you do the same.

But no matter how the year plays, no matter what we achieve, no matter where we fail, no matter how we fall, I believe God will bless the getting up again.

Stand strong.