Christmas Letter to Ty

Dear Tyler,

Today is, of course, Christmas day.  Many of the things around us are centering on purchasing gifts, Christmas songs, and general hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  Its so easy to become washed away in the overwhelming noise of it all.

We woke up this morning and headed downstairs with your sister so she could open her gifts.  She carefully opened the small present in her stocking, and then moved on to her larger presents by the tree.  Santa (wink wink) brought her lots of cool things like books, art supplies, games, and roller wheels for her shoes.  As has become the tradition, Santa left a note on the Christmas tree to check downstairs for one last special gift.  She couldn't wait to get down the steps to find a brand new shining bike!  It took me back to the time that you were young and came down the stairs to find a pit full of plastic balls for you to jump into!

Later in the morning your Grandparents and Great-Grandma came to share lunch and do a little more gift opening.  It was a very nice day of gathering as a family.

I thought of you a lot today.  On one hand it's very hard to spend the holiday without you with us.  One the other hand, I know this is a difficult time for your behavior.  For whatever the reason, you are much more easily aggravated and you need to remain inside of the things that are familiar to you.  As hard as it is to not include you in our activities, we know you would prefer not to be.  To us it doesn't make sense, but it does to you.

I just want you to know that we all love you.  We missed you today.  We wish that the circumstances were different, but we also understand the reality of who you are.  We want you to always have what you need, even when that means giving you your space.  

We saw the picture that your staffer sent.  It looks like you are really enjoying the radio headphones we bought for you.  It was great to see you smiling while you had them on.

Someday, whether it's during this mortal life or in the afterlife, we will spend our greatest Christmas together.  We will sit together, perhaps exchange a special gift, and talk about the many roads we have traveled together.  It will be the greatest gift I will ever have, and I look forward to it like no other.

I love you son.

Dad