🌟 Christmas Eve: Holding Family Close & Holding My Mom in My Heart

Christmas Eve has always carried a kind of magic —the glow of soft lights, the smell of familiar food, the gentle hum of holiday music in the background.But this year, that magic feels different — quieter, deeper, touched by both love and longing.

Tonight, I’m spending Christmas Eve with my dad, my brothers, and the puppies —the whole crew, the whole heartbeat of our family.

There is something grounding about being with the people who have known every chapter of your life — the childhood memories, the family jokes, the messy moments, the joyful ones, and everything in between. Add puppies to the mix, and suddenly grief has a little more softness wrapped around it.

Because while we’re all doing our best to celebrate the night…we’re also all feeling the same absence. We’re all missing the same person. My mom.

💛 Missing Her in Every Moment

My mom filled Christmas Eve in a way only she could. She brought warmth, ease, tradition, and laughter that pulled everyone together.

This year, she isn’t physically here…but wow, is she present.

She’s in the way my dad looks across the room with that soft sad smile he thinks we don’t notice. She’s in the way my brothers tell stories about her — one memory turning into another, each one making us laugh and tear up at the same time. She’s in the puppies running around creating chaos she would have pretended to be annoyed by… but secretly loved.

She’s in the food she used to make. The decorations she chose. The traditions she insisted on. The love she poured into all of us so deeply that even now, it echoes.

Her absence is real. But her presence? Just as real.

🎄 Keeping Her Spirit Alive

Tonight isn’t just a family gathering —it’s an honoring.

We’re keeping alive the little things she cared about, the rituals she nurtured, the feeling she created. My dad carries her strength. My brothers carry her humour. I carry her heart. And the puppies carry the kind of chaotic joy she always had a soft spot for.

We talk about her as if she’s right here, sitting beside us —because in a way, she is. Every joke, every story, every quiet moment where our eyes well up…it all comes from her.

The love she created didn’t end.I t just shifted — from physical presence to spiritual warmth.

And I feel her guiding us tonight, wrapping around us like the glow of the Christmas lights.

✨ A Christmas Eve Blessing From My Heart

As I sit here — surrounded by my dad, my brothers, and a small army of puppies who clearly think they run the show — my heart holds two emotions at once:

A deep ache for my mom. A deep gratitude for the family who still gathers.

If you’re moving through Christmas with both love and loss this year, please know this:

Your feelings are welcome here. Your grief is not a burden — it’s proof of love. And the people you miss? They are closer than you realize.

Tonight, I’m choosing to believe my mom is here:

in our laughter, in our stories, in our togetherness,i n the puppies she would’ve spoiled, in the man she spent her life loving, and in the children she raised with her whole heart.

Love doesn’t disappear. It transforms. It settles into the people we become. It lives in our traditions, our memories, our conversations, our choices, and our courage to keep going.

So from my family to yours —and from my mom’s love that continues to guide us —Merry Christmas Eve. May you feel connected, held, and gently lit from within tonight. 💛✨

Love you Mom