Ping a ling
Dear SnowKids,
Please accept all of our warmest wishes that, although your first Christmas without your Dad is bound to hurt quite a bit, you will be still be able to find the amazing joy in all the presents he remembered to leave behind for you. No, not the ones under the tree, the ones in your hearts.
You guys may have probably already figured this out by now, but every memory your Dad ever made with you is a fantastic gift that you'll be able to open this Christmas & reopen next Christmas and indeed continue to reopen every day of your lives whenever you feel like you need a new one.
I'm sure the three of you will find out soon if you haven't yet already that, unlike other people, our Moms & Dads are never really able to leave us completely. Our parents are so much a part of who we are & they've imprinted themselves so deeply on our own souls that, whether they're living across the country or waiting for us in heaven, all we ever have to do to be with them again is wrap our hearts as tightly around our memories of them as we can.
So, though it may still terrifically painful to do it at first, be sure to unwrap as many of those memories of your Dad that you can bear this December 25th. Because unlike a bicycle or an ipod, the more you use your most cherished remembrances of him, the newer they actually stay.
May this Christmas & all the Christmases to come fill your hearts with the generosity of your Dad's beautiful spirit which lives on in you, SnowKids, his much-loved children.