I was expecting this Christmas to be so hard just a month after my sister passing and have to say it wasn't as hard as I had imagined. I found great comfort in my children and was present in the moment.

DH totally killed it with his surprise ( he stayed up til 4am)! He found video of Xmas 2013 and edited it for me to have my wish of hearing her voice and laughter and to see her in action of exclaiming with enthusiasm as my children opened their gifts. I found it so comforting as did 3 of my children. My oldest who was the closest to my sister had a different reaction, so as soon as I heard her laughter I requested we shut it off and watched it all later. My brothers and niece later said they were with my oldest in not being ready for that. We truly all grieve differently and sensitivity to that is so important.

Hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday and am just grateful for the YLF community!