Home for the Holidays

This year feels different.

 

For the first time, my wife and I are spending the holidays not just married, but in our own home—with our own Christmas tree, our own ornaments, and a very energetic new puppy who is discovering everything for the first time.

 

Growing up, my family celebrated on Christmas Eve—Noche Buena. That’s when gifts were opened. Christmas morning was slower: pigs in a blanket, coffee, going to the movies, and the TV on with NBA Christmas games playing in the background. It wasn’t flashy, but it was grounding. Familiar. Ours.

 

This year, that feeling matters more than ever.

 

Campaigns have a way of consuming everything—your time, your energy, your sense of normalcy. You live in conversations, doors, numbers, strategy. Even joy can feel transactional if you’re not careful.

 

So being home matters. Decorating matters. Sitting still matters. Watching sports without multitasking matters. Letting life feel human again matters.

 

The holidays remind us of something we often forget in politics: people aren’t just voters or data points. They’re families. Traditions. Memories.

 

If there’s a lesson I take from this season, it’s that progress doesn’t come from shouting past one another. It comes from remembering what we’re actually trying to protect. Dignity, stability, belonging, and the chance to build a life that feels whole.

 

That’s what I’m carrying with me into the new year.

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