Christmas is another of those times, like Thanksgiving and perhaps Easter, when family and friends become the most important thing in the world (perhaps that should be our everyday thought!?). It is also a time for reflection since the year is almost over and the New Year is just around the bend.

Lee and I write Christmas letters to each other every year and share them on Christmas Day. We highlight the past year and we draft our tentative plans and desires for the upcoming year. In the past, most of our reflections have revolved around our travels, in particular the delight and afterglow of these cultural and educational experiences. We, of course, also reflected on family events and milestones which may have occurred during the year.

In 2013, our reflections will certainly center on My Cancer and the effect that this out-of-the-blue diagnosis has had on us. This cataclysmic event has transformed our lives and the lives of our family and friends. It has given new meaning to the upcoming year since it could be my last (although I truly feel that I have YEARS left!)

We also assess our relationship and its progress over the year in these letters, a very healthy thing for lovers to do from time to time. I know that My Cancer has brought us even closer this year, despite the fact that 2013 was fraught with tearful poignancy.

To my readers: rejoice in the love and comfort of family and friends today; reflect thoughtfully on the trials, tribulations, wonder, and joy of 2013; resolve to cherish the moments of your life and to live 2014 as if it were the last year of your life; and vow to love more deeply, as though your family and close friends will be taken from you soon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!