Life changed a lot for me in 2002. Grandma died in March after a brief battle with colon cancer, leaving a hole in our family that can never be filled. I graduated in May from Texas A&M with a Master's degree in nursing, and while excited and oh so ready to be finished, I missed that routine and my fellow nursing students. I took on a new role as a nurse practitioner, and before I knew it the holidays were here. The village continued to grow, and working on it became a way to make Christmas tradition in the face of major change.