It was a day for writing cards and wrapping presents and listening to the house creak in the cold. We joined neighbors for an advent walk in a maze of candles and spruce greens. Then we all held hands and sang Silent Night, but then they hit me with a tune I sang for a school pageant the winter my parents were splitting up, and I lost it. Later Ken the Wonder Carpenter stopped by to return an extension cord, and I offered him a hot toddy and toasted malt loaf, which instantly reminded him of the care packages his mother used to send him, and HE lost it. Which is to say, if you find yourself grappling with ocular incontinence right now, please know you’re in good company. It’s what happens this time of year, isn’t it?