Christmas without a loved one is always difficult. No matter how many weeks, months, or years go by it never gets any easier. When someone passes away who was so in love with Christmas, it is forever changed. The traditions stop, the family goes separate ways, and new traditions begin. However, the heartache of the old traditions never truly dull. You go through a couple of stages after they pass. The first Christmas without them is depressing. What's the point? You don't want to decorate, bake, get presents, you just want to wallow in self-grieving. The grief consumes your being and a blanket of depression is draped over you.
The second year, you start to pick yourself up. It's not like it used to be, but you know you have to continue on. The days never stop coming and it's inevitable. The holidays are about family. Your existing family, and sometimes you have to pull yourself together for the members and remember that they also lost someone. It's never easy, and there are times when you're going to be overcome with grief. Just remember that your loved one would want you to continue on. They would not want you to be so upset, and to carry on the traditions as much as possible. Things are forever going to change. You may be thinking that things only changed because of the passing, but that's not true. Things have been changing every year, little by little, and it just seems to happen all at once. Death is unfair. It's consuming and takes a little piece of everyone. Hold your loved ones lost within your heart during Christmas. But actually hold your family members close. You're still alive and you need to continue on for the rest of your family.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wesołych Świąt dla moich aniołów.