My beautiful grand daughter left to go back to SF with her father after spending three weeks with me. The house is quiet, the toys are packed up and put and away and there is a very empty space in my house and in my life. He will have a a small Christmas back in SF with his girlfriend.

I am looking for the faith in Christmas. It is Christmas Eve day, and we already did Christmas while she was here, so no plans for the actual Christmas day. No big dinner, no lots of friends and family.

As you grow older and your children have their own lives, it is your place in life to accept that you need to redesign your Christmas.

I always loved the Holidays, as it meant family and friends, great food and festivities. Growing up, my mother’s family was close by, so all the aunts and uncles would get together with great food and loud conversation. As I grew and married everyone lived further apart and the tradition seemed to dwindle.

Now, I am in my 60’s and celebrated Christmas morning on the 21st, so I could watch my beautiful three year old grand daughter open presents and was thrilled with the joy of watching her excitement. It was so nice to have two of my sons for dinner and conversation. But where is the rest of the connected family.

It is Christmas Eve day and I am grateful to have all my family members healthy, no matter where they live. I didn’t do Christmas cards this year and most likely will only send a few out to my close friends, as last year, I did not mention one wife that was between jobs and one girlfriend and I became the scum of the earth for not saying anything. One of things I have decided as I look to the New Year is that you cannot make everyone happy. Of my immediate family I was the only one to send out cards with photos of all them; but rather than enjoying what I wrote, it was the complaint of what I did not write.

It is a beautiful sunrise this morning once again, and time to think about the sunrises in our lives, enjoy the moment, let the unhappy people in our lives be unhappy without making us feel that way, put on our Princess Crown and remember what Christmas is all about. It is not what is once was with family and friends in my life, but knowing they are independently happy will have to be enough joy for me to share with the world.

May you find “The Princess” in your life and in your heart and accept the beautiful life we are all lucky enough to enjoy.

Not my ordinary blog, but something I have been thinking about for a while.