OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Christmas wishes

The Christmas season is hard on a lot of us. Estrangements, deaths, illness, work schedules and other things keep us from feeling very merry.

Over the years, my family has scattered, but we usually tried to get together at least sometime close to the holidays. Deaths, though--Grandpa, then Daddy, nephew David, both grandmas, Mama and finally Corey--have made it hard to even contemplate getting together. We might text or talk on the phone, but facing the holidays without the glue that held us together is just too much to handle in person sometimes.

I luckily have a lot of friends and family I chose (or who chose me) that I can spend time with, or I can spend the holidays alone and not feel lonely (I'm largely a hermit, remember).