This Christmas, He’s Still Here With Me

Every year when the Christmas tree goes up, I pull out the same box of old ornaments. Some have faded with time, and some of the ribbons are beginning to fray, but I could never bring myself to replace them. Each one holds a little piece of our family’s story.

But there is one ornament I always save for last.

It’s a photograph of my husband and me, printed on a small wooden ornament and tied with a simple red ribbon.

I hang it somewhere I can easily see it. When the Christmas lights come on, I sometimes find myself standing quietly in front of the tree, looking at the two smiling faces in that picture.

To anyone else, it might look like just another Christmas ornament.

To me, it means so much more.

It’s my way of making sure my husband is still part of Christmas with me.

I think about all the Christmases we shared—the years we decorated the tree together, the family dinners, the ordinary conversations, and all the laughter I once assumed I would hear forever.

Time has a way of changing things.

The chairs around the dinner table may not always be filled by the same people. The house may sometimes feel a little quieter than it once did. But love doesn’t simply disappear, and neither do the memories we created together.

So every Christmas, when I hang this little photograph on the tree, I smile and quietly say:

“Merry Christmas, my love. You’re still here with me this year.”

Maybe Christmas isn’t only about the people physically gathered around us. Sometimes it’s also about remembering the people who became such an important part of our lives that no amount of time could ever erase them from our hearts.

And as long as this little photograph hangs on my Christmas tree, a part of me will always feel that we’re celebrating Christmas together—just in a different way.