Hello- I wanted to wish all of us a peaceful holiday season. This is my first without my husband, David. We were married for 45 years. He passed away in April. It's been extremely difficult, to say the least. Yesterday, a friend's son, who helps me a lot, helped set up my little Christmas tree. I have it on a table. It doesn't look as small, and it has lights.

One thing that happened was getting a warm feeling of the memory when we bought it and the tree ornaments that we collected. Usually, I feel a huge sense of loss and pain, so this really was a welcome relief!

It's been eight months, almost 10 months since I lost David. He was my soulmate and best friend. He was a brilliant man who never tried to answer questions, especially about science and history. He was a happy spirit but now it's up to me to stand alone. I'm frightened of this but look forward to a day when I can see how straight I stand.

On that note, I will be having Christmas morning alone with my cat. I hope that she likes the toy that I got for her. I won't have any presents to open so I'm glad that my tree is small. But later that I'll go to my sister's for present exchanges and lunch!

I hope that you all have a peaceful holiday. What will you be doing?

Merry