The holidays are a time of cheer and family.

During this time, the world comes together with generosity and warmth and makes us feel the infinite possibilities of love. Unfortunately, during this time it is not always eggnog and laughs. For some people, including my own, our celebrated holidays leave us with an empty seat at the table and the new year reminds us of another year without loved ones.

Sometimes the year that helps us grow, also challenges us greatly, taking away those that we love, and urging us to move forward. 2016 was that year for me. I lost a grandfather, a best friend, and a dance partner. I spent most of the year mourning him, finding ways to move on, and honor him. During this holiday season, I looked at the head of the table on Christmas day and I was one of those people who found that spot empty. I was one of those people who was reminded during New Years' Eve that 2017 was the mark of a year a deceased loved one would not see.

But throughout all of this sadness I reflected and came to a revelation. Our loved ones stay with us, they live through us and continue their love and spirit through those that were closest to them. Bodies are merely physical vessels that allow us to see one another but you can’t let your love or your joy during this time die, for that is when our loved ones truly are not here. You see things that remind you of them or you eat their favorite holiday food and you keep with their traditions. But instead of deepening in your sorrow you begin to see these things as cracks of their spirit that no longer look broken but look like silver linings.

Love is a strange thing, but it is eternal and knows no physical bounds so when you think of those you lost remember, nobody is ever truly lost, we merely wander.