I’m writing this from my hotel room in Folsom, CA, where we’ll be spending Christmas at my sister’s house. This is the first Christmas in 26 years that we won’t be in our own home for the holiday. When my kids were little, that was my one uncompromising requirement - they would wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning and celebrate in our home. We’d travel for other holidays sometimes, but Christmas was non-negotiable. We’d host anyone who wanted to come, and for all these years, they did.

Well, the kids are all mostly grown-up now, and they’ve had a childhood full of Christmas memories, just as I’d hoped. With my sister and two of my boys now living on the west coast, it felt like the right time to try something different.

Last night, my husband and I sat at the hotel bar with all the kids and laughed for nearly the entire time, until they basically closed the place up around us. As parents, we often look back and think about what we could have done differently, how we may have handled something better, how we might have failed our kids in some way or another. But last night, sitting together watching the love my kids have for one another, I am sure we did something very right.

Wishing you and your family love and joy this holiday season.