To my family and my friends:

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Is that wonderful time of the year we call Christmas – a time we cherish for all it means. For Christians, a time to rejoice and pay homage to the birth of our blessed father – the Lord Jesus Christ – for most of mankind a time to revere its existence, who we are, and what we are all about; for all of us who happen to be sharing this brief span of time allotted us by our Creator, a time to acknowledge each other; a time to acknowledge our love and our care for one another; our friendships – a time to endorse and acquiesce our relatives and friends for what we mean to one another and a time to reminisce on our fortuitous sharing of this precious space in time, we daringly call “life”. That precious gift, we often-times, take so much for granted, only to come to terms with its finiteness, not in time enough to let others know how much we cared for them, albeit for as long as it lasted.

Moreover, I think of all that is left untold. I think of the unspoken words, how much it could have meant to the one that never heard it told. I think of all we wished we had said, but never did. I think of the wishes for forgiveness we should have offered to all we have hurt along the way, but never pledged it. I think of all the love and care we should have shared but never did, if only we thought it was too late, but really never was.

For all the fear in me in of all I may have left unsaid, untold, I want this Christmas to be the first to let you all know, my relatives and friends, how you have meant to me. Before the time has passed, I want to let you all know how much I value our relationships. I apprize and take comfort in having been around you and sharing with you the times we did and I am grateful and thankful to you just for being who you are and what you have meant to me – for having shared this precious space in time we daringly know as “life”. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless you all!

Obi Usategui