Chop Wood, Merry Christmas.

The briefest of notes to all of you on this Christmas Eve.

I’m in Michigan, where it’s a brisk 14 degrees. The sleepy Detroit suburb I’m in is silent beyond imagining, what with the snow, the cold, and the holiday. You could be forgiven for feeling like you and your family were the last people on earth.

Except...we are far from it. From loved ones nearby to all of you various distances away, it’s abundantly clear that we are not alone, and oh, does it feel like the greatest blessing on earth.

This year has been hard. It’s been stressful. It’s felt like the pressure of what we needed to achieve would crush us, and yet it did not. It made us, rather, victorious. And stronger. And more durable. And more filled with joy.

This year we received the greatest gift of all: a continuation of our democracy. We achieved it together, and we achieved it the old fashioned way--with hard work and determination. There is no other holiday gift that can compare.

I await with eagerness the gifts that we will create in the year to come. For now, though, we can thank good fortune for our warm beds, our happy homes, our health, and our friends and family.

We can celebrate peace.

I am deeply honored to have shared this year with you, and wish you the best possible holiday--whichever you may celebrate.

We are rich in the right ways. We have each other. We have compassion on our side. We have history to defend us.

We have our democracy.

Our cups, in short, runneth over. So let’s lift them and cheer the year we’ve had, and the years to come.

Whatever happens, we will be in it together. For that, I am thankful.

And joyous.

And at peace.

I hope you are, too.

Warmly,

Jess