Keep Shining Brightly

On Christmas Eve, 2015, I published the following on Facebook. A friend reminded me of it today. Since it still rings true, I thought I would share it here. It’s past Christmas, but the holidays are not quite over.

December 24, 2015 – Last weekend, half the lights on my little Christmas tree went out and I had to replace them all. The culprit was one of those strings where ALL the lights go out when one bulb goes out. Grrrr. I ripped off the existing light strings and replaced them with some that have this statement on the package: “When one goes out, the rest stay lit”.

I was thinking about that today in a different context. I have noted several messages this week from friends who will be missing a loved one during this holiday season. An empty chair at dinner, so to speak. First, for those of you who shared, thank you for doing so. I was touched by your stories. And second, I hope you find peace in the memory of your loved one(s). And third (bear with me, I am almost finished), let’s not be like my old holiday lights, where one missing bulb makes the whole string go dark. Let’s be like the new sets – “when one goes out, the rest stay lit”. I totally believe that our loved ones would want us to keep shining brightly even in their absence. Totally corny analogy, but it made me smile. And sometimes that’s all we need.

Everyone, be good to yourselves this holiday season. And thank you for your friendship.

December 30, 2017 – And from today, Happy New Year to all. Thank you for following along with our travels — I am so grateful for your interest and comments. We look forward to sharing more with you in 2018.