We need things, and the opposite of them, and we are so rarely completely comfortable.

The holiday season is a time for storytelling, and whether you are hearing the story of a candelabra staying lit for more than a week, or a baby born in a barn without proper medical supervision, these stories often feature miracles. Miracles are like pimples, because once you start looking for them you find more than you ever dreamed you'd see, and this holiday story features any number of miracles, depending on your point of view.

Numbersign questionmark you" and "Asterisk exclamation point the world.

We weren't friends[...]We were more like jigsaw pieces, each of us part of the same big picture. There are people like this wherever you go. They are part of the same mystery as you are, but you can't quite tell how you fit together. The world is a puzzle, and we can't solve it alone.

There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.

Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course.

...in life it is often the tiny details that end up being the most important.