Dear Readers: I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Christmas is a very busy time of year filled with strong emotions both happy and sad. The joy and the arguments can each feel louder.

Some of you woke up to wrapping paper everywhere, excited kids, pets eating the bows and a sink full of sticky mugs. You're happy but exhausted and maybe a little overstimulated. If that's you, I hope you give yourself five quiet minutes. Sit with your coffee, step outside for a breath of cold air or just stare at the wall if you need to. The mess means life is happening, not that you're failing.

Some of you are facing your first Christmas after a loss. Their chair is empty. Their ornament is still in the box. The traditions you used to love now feel like they belong to someone else's life. If that's where you are, I'm so sorry. Grief is loud on days like this. There's no "right" way to do the holiday. If you put up a tree, that's OK. If you couldn't bear to, that's OK, too. Tears at the table will not ruin Christmas; they're proof that love was real.

Some of you are doing the complicated family dance with the relative who drinks too much, the one who makes comments about your life choices, the siblings who still know exactly how to push your buttons. If you set boundaries this year — arrived late to dinner, left early or decided not to go at all — please don't second-guess yourself just because it's Dec. 25. Protecting your peace isn't "un-Christmaslike." It's self-respect.

Others are alone today, not by choice. Maybe the kids are with their other parent. Maybe you're newly divorced, newly single or just far from home. Maybe your plans fell through. If your day is quiet, please don't confuse that with failure. A "small" Christmas can still be a meaningful one. Light a candle. Cook something simple that you love. Watch a movie you don't have to negotiate with anyone about. You're allowed to build a holiday that fits the life you actually have.

And to everyone working today — nurses, doctors, first responders, caregivers, hospitality workers, delivery drivers and so many others — thank you. While some people are arguing over who's carving the turkey, you're keeping people safe, cared for and connected. What you do matters more than most of us ever see.

Christmas, at its heart, is a story about light showing up in a very ordinary, imperfect place. Not a perfect house, not a perfect family, not perfect people. Just people — which means you don't have to have a magical movie moment for today to count.

If you're joyful, share it. If you're hurting, be gentle with yourself. If someone crosses your mind, send the text. People don't need perfect words. They just need to know they weren't forgotten.

From my heart to yours, thank you for letting me into your living rooms, your group chats, your kitchen tables and your hard days this year. It's an honor.

Wishing you one real moment of peace, one genuine laugh and one reminder that you matter more than you know.

"Out of Bounds: Estrangement, Boundaries and the Search for Forgiveness" is out now! Annie Lane's third anthology is for anyone who has lived with anger, estrangement or the deep ache of being wronged — because forgiveness isn't for them. It's for you. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Follow Annie Lane on Instagram at @dearannieofficial. Send your questions for Annie Lane to [email protected].

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