Cookies and Milk

Santa still makes his rounds, sliding down chimneys with gifts that nobody asked for but somehow needed. I leave out cookies and milk by the fireplace like I always do—part ritual, part habit, part faith in the whole strange tradition.

What gets me is people who aren’t leaving anything out. No fireplace, no table, no house where the holidays work the way they’re supposed to. And I think that’s the actual point. Around the holidays you become aware of what you have. You see the gap because it’s suddenly visible in a way it usually isn’t.

So: Merry Christmas. Hope it’s gentle on you, whatever way you spend it.