I never got a puppy for Christmas. That is a simple fact. I asked every year. I wrote letters to Santa. I circled beagle puppies in catalogs. But Christmas morning came and went, and no box ever whimpered under the tree.
For a long time, that made me sad. I thought I had missed out on something essential. Something that other kids had. A furry friend to share a bedroom with. A warm body at the foot of the bed. A pair of happy eyes when you walk through the door.
Then I grew up. I started writing. And I realized something important. Not getting something does not mean you cannot write about it. In fact, not getting it might be the very reason you should write about it.
A Pawful Christmas is my gift to every child who ever wanted a pet and did not get one. It is also a gift to every adult who still remembers that longing. And it is a gift to anyone who has lost a pet and wishes they could have one more Christmas morning together.
In the story, Tiffany and Tommy do not expect to get dogs. They did not even put puppies on their wish list because their parents had said no before. But the parents were just saving the surprise. And on Christmas morning, out popped two beautiful beagle pups named Bella and Marley.
I wrote that scene with tears in my eyes. Because I was giving my younger self the Christmas I never had. And I was giving readers the chance to experience that magic, even if only in a story.
You can do the same. Whatever you missed out on, whatever you longed for and never received, you can write it. You can dream it onto the page. You can share it with the world.
Not getting a pet does not mean you cannot write about one. Not getting love does not mean you cannot write about love. Not getting closure does not mean you cannot write an ending that heals.
So write. Open a blank page. Let your dreams become stories. May the Paws be with you.