Growing up with a dad who always worked abroad, one date was especially important to me: Christmas.

On the 1st of December we officially kicked off the Christmas season: we put up the tree and started buying presents.

Around the 18th of December my dad would arrive from Paris and my heart would overflow with a joy that still gives me goosebumps today. It was the happiest moment of my life, because it meant what mattered the most to me: we were together again (my dad, my mum, my sister and me).

And my dad never came home empty-handed. He knew VERY WELL that one essential ingredient for a perfect celebration was… bringing chocolates from Paris . And he always came with so many! As a teacher, at that time of year he received so many boxes of chocolates as gifts that my sister and I ate until we couldn’t manage another bite. The funny thing is that, even though it was clearly too much, we did NOT allow our parents to give any away . We ate until we were on the edge of a chocolate overdose! Hahahaha!

For me, Christmas meant sitting down for meals together, playing with my dad, long conversations, constant little intellectual challenges and, most importantly, having the three people I loved the most right there with me.

If you also feel that this season is about so much more than presents, you might enjoy my reflection on Christmas and the things we should never take for granted.

Two weeks later my dad would go back to work in Paris, and his departure hurt just as much as, or even more than, the joy we had felt when he arrived.

Today I understand and appreciate the sacrifice my parents made, because it was all to give us a good education and a future that looked very different from the reality they had.

We only ever live in our present. Later, that present becomes our past, inside our future, and that is how our memories are created.

Today I look back on those times with a huge smile, because those moments were lived so intensely.

That is what I wish for you this holiday season: that you enjoy your present as much as possible, with the people you love, and that you try to create happy memories for your future.

And if this year the holidays feel heavier than joyful, you are not alone. I wrote about why Christmas feels lonely and the quiet reality no one talks about.

That is exactly what I’m going to do: for these three weeks I will focus only on the people I love, living our present intensely. I will be COMPLETELY away from social media and will only be back in January.

I wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

And today, because it’s Saturday, it’s ME TIME!!!!

I’m going to watch “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” for the second time. This film is absolutely extraordinary in every way!

I’m also going to treat myself to a glass of Ginja Mariquinhas, a cherry liqueur from Óbidos. I think I’m going to love it!

Good night!