It’s Christmas morning.

Outside, there are twinkling lights, cinnamon smells, and laughter echoing from living rooms. Inside, you might be listening to the buzz of fluorescent lights, the shuffle of boots on concrete, or silence broken only by distant conversation.

Maybe you’re waking up alone with a letter tucked beneath your pillow. Maybe you’re still waiting on the one they mailed weeks ago. Maybe you didn’t get to talk yesterday. Maybe the phones are full, the lines are long, and your heart aches like it always does in December.

But it’s still Christmas.

Not because everything feels merry. But because love didn’t vanish.

It showed up in the letter you stayed up late to write. It showed up in the holiday-themed crossword puzzle you clipped from a flyer and sent through the mail. It showed up when you cried on the couch while wrapping a gift they’ll never open. It showed up in a video visit where you smiled more than you felt. It showed up in the quiet decision to love — again — today.

It’s okay if this holiday feels uneven. If you scroll past photo after photo of matching pajamas and full tables and feel the air leave your chest. It’s okay if you’re grieving the version of this day you wish you could share. You’re allowed to miss it and still make something beautiful out of it.

So light a candle. Write a note. Share a memory from Christmas Past, or make up a vision of Christmas Future. Pretend you’re decorating together — describe the tree you’d pick, the movie you’d watch, the pajamas you’d wear. Or keep it simple: “I’m here. I love you. Even today. Especially today.”

And if you’re the one behind the fence, reading these words in a folded letter or printed message, know this: you are not forgotten. Not during a holiday. Not ever.

Distance can bend a lot of things — but it cannot erase what’s real. You are still a couple. Still building something. Still allowed to hope.

From all of us who walk this path, we see you. We honor the love you’re holding. We believe it counts.

And yes, it’s still Christmas.

Even now.

Even here.