To my dearest niece,

This is your first Christmas and I’m excited. You’ve grown up so much in the past year. Your cute little smile instantly makes my day. Even seeing pictures of you with your mom and dad make my day. Your grandma must be shining down through heaven each time you smile. This Christmas and all after until you’re about four years old you won’t remember, but we all will. Right now, you have no idea what Christmas is.

When you start talking, you’ll figure out that you get presents for Christmas. Sometimes things you want. Sometimes things you’ll need. But you see, Christmas is about something much better than presents. It’s about whatever is important to you. Right now that would probably be food and love from your mommy and daddy. In a few years from now when you’ve grown up a bit, you might say that Christmas is about family. I think Christmas is about spending time with family and people that are like family.

Christmas is about making memories and enjoying our family and friends’ company. It’s a time of gathering. A time of joy. Last year, you were your mommy’s Christmas gift. This year your baby sister or brother is your mommy’s Christmas gift. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t one of her gifts, too. A person can have more than one gift at a time. In this case, your mommy might have some other gifts that won’t make as many memories as you or your new sibling and your daddy. Family is usually a gift. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

When you’ve gotten to the age where you like boys and might even consider entering a relationship with one, you might say that they are one of your Christmas gifts. I believe that throughout our lives we are given gifts on days that don’t even matter to us, but we realize how much of a gift those gifts are on the days that do matter. Memories are gifts that will never break.

They’ll never leave. That can be a blessing or a curse, but I do hope it’s never a curse for you. Memories are gifts that you can share any time it hits your brain. Some of my memories are funny while others are bittersweet. I hope you never have a bittersweet memory as sometimes they can hurt. I can tell you a memory I’ll have of you forever. One memory (and it’s actually the first one) is when I first met you in the hospital.

It was New Year’s Day. Almost a year ago. The second your mommy was able to hold you in the NICU, you stopped crying and were calm and at peace. I looked into your cute blue eyes and immediately fell in love. Now as you’ve grown and have developed a personality, I can tell you’ll be a very talkative, very sassy little girl. You’re almost one years old and I wish you’d stop growing, but I also know that I can’t wait to see you grow.

Alivia, I hope you cherish any memories you’ll have and tell me when you’re older what you think Christmas means to you.

All my love,

Aunt Rosemary