This is the first Christmas I will not get to spend with my Mom and I find myself feeling like I want to implode. Christmas was her favorite time of year. Starting right after Thanksgiving, she would adorn her house with boxes and boxes of decorations, lights and holiday finery. She bought gifts for families who needed a little help, planned and created decorations for her church Christmas party, and always made dinner for us on Christmas Eve. Now that it’s here I feel lost, out of step with the world around me. I would give anything for one more Christmas dinner listening to her favorite Johnny Mathis Christmas record and hearing her laugh as we opened our traditional “white elephant” gifts before dinner. Just a few more moments. The moments are all that we have. The space between them is just filler. The moments and the feelings are what you take with you and they are what’s left behind. So I urge you to create more moments in your lives. Tell the people around you how much you love them and how much they enrich your experience. Tell your parents. Tell your spouse. Your boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend or old friend. Tell them. Merry Chirstmas.