I know how I want to feel. I know how I wish I felt. And yet, the joy seems fleeting.

Sitting down at the table, getting greeting cards together to go out for the holidays, the afternoon light spills in behind me. A few stuffed animals watch over my careful work.

This time of year, it seems like it should FEEL as we intend: to slow a bit, to spend time with loved ones, to reach out to old friends, new friends, to experience and wonder at the simple magic as lights go up and trees bring life inside and there’s sharing and treats and so many things that are good.

And yet it’s a bit of a struggle. I feel a little empty, like there’s just not enough.

But I won’t let that stop me.

The joy will pour forth, it will go far and wide, and wonder and magic and love. Let it be so, let it be so.