There are so many opportunities during the next few weeks to connect with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Some of these gatherings you look forward to, and others bring with them a sense of dread. After my mother died in December 2006, the day we were putting up the Christmas Tree, my brothers and sisters and I felt like fifty-year-old orphans. All our family traditions revolved around our parents and now that both mom and dad were gone we didn't have anyone to brag to about some accomplishment, or ask for advice when we had a problem, or just find a sympathetic ear. At Christmas time we felt the loss. We kept getting together trying to keep old traditions alive; the carry-in din
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