It’s there in the empty chair, the tradition that feels quieter, the laugh you expect to hear but don’t. Even the happiest moments can carry an ache when someone you love isn’t physically here to share them. The lights still glow, the tree still stands tall, the music still plays but everything feels slightly different.

Grief doesn’t take a holiday. It doesn’t pause just because the calendar tells us this is a season of joy. And yet, Christmas also has a strange way of reminding us that love doesn’t disappear either.

They may not be here in the way we wish they were, but I believe they are still with us. In the memories that rise without warning. In the traditions they helped create. In the way we tell their stories, laugh the way they laughed, or pause during a quiet moment and feel them close.

I feel them in the small things. In the ornaments that hold meaning only we understand. In the way the house feels at night when everything is still. In the moments when my heart feels full and heavy all at once. Missing someone at Christmas isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s proof of love that continues.

This season isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about making space for both joy and sorrow to exist together. It’s about honoring the love that shaped us and trusting that it still surrounds us, even if we can’t see it.

Because they are not gone from us.
They are watching.
They are walking beside us.
They are carried forward in everything we do.
⸻
A Christmas Poem for the Ones We Miss

You’re not here beside us,
But you’re not far away.
You’re in every quiet moment,
In the things we never say.

You’re in the glow of candles,
In the stars that fill the night,
In the love we keep on carrying,
In the memories held tight.

We feel you in our laughter,
And in tears we try to hide,
You’re not missing from our Christmas
You’re forever by our side.