The holiday season is bittersweet. Some of my fondest memories surround Christmas and some of my saddest recollections were harvested during the season as well.

I've lost loved ones at this time of the year and the memory of those losses is refreshed every time I look at our Christmas tree. The pain has been replaced by pleasant accounts of my life with these people. Loss of a precious life, whether it is a parent, a brother-in-law, a nephew or an employee, is painful. Many times it doesn't hit you all at once, but the cumulative effect revisits itself days, weeks or even months later.

Loss of loved ones is a constant reminder to us all that we're just passing through and we should make the most of our brief tenure here on earth. Our presence here is but a speck on the backdrop of time. Treasure the positives as you memorialize those losses.

Loss of health and wealth can also be just as devastating but unlike the loss of a loved one, the lingering effects can be debilitating. Wealth is one of those things that can be relevant. You really don't have any problems if money is the solution. You can make more money. You can't always correct a health issue.

My Christmas gift to myself this year is to get new wheels. No, not a car, but a new set of hips. I used to chuckle at the thought of hip replacement surgery but when the pain you endure keeps you from sleeping through the night for nearly a year it's time to seek a solution. Unfortunately, it's raining on my family's Christmas parade as I now have to cancel a concert appearance with the Osceola Singers and possibly several speaking gigs as well as the inconvenience to family.

The two irreplaceable qualities that professional speakers must have are their voice and their wheels. I can't see myself delivering a keynote address from a walker or using a cane or being in a seated position, but it might happen nevertheless.

Comes now my seventh book. "It's the Customer, Stupid!" (John Wiley & Sons) may be my newest and best way of dispensing information to my audiences. But for a book to enjoy success it must be sold and to sell it, you have to be out and about promoting the book on television, radio and most importantly in front of thousands of people in our audiences. Books are like life insurance. They aren't bought; they're sold.

It never occurred to me that I might lose my most valuable information disbursement vehicle, my voice and my ability to stand for hours at a time in front of an audience. But that's what's going to happen until the rehab is complete from the hip replacement.

The great thing about being a member of the National Speakers Association, the Veteran Speakers Retreat and groups like Toastmasters International is that you have a network of colleagues that can pinch hit for you and help you in times like these.

My dear friend, Jeff Slutsky, who co-authored "The Toastmasters International Guide to Successful Speaking" with me, lost his wife some time ago and called on me to go to Puerto Rico to do a gig for him, which I was glad to do for gratis. That's what friends are for. I know I could call on him anytime to return the favor.

So Christmas is a bittersweet time of the year for me and the latest chapter in this seasonal interlude involves just a loss of health, not a life. Now is when you are grateful for your support systems like your professional colleagues and your family.

My fondest Christmas memory of all was when I proposed to Christine at Midnight Mass nearly four decades ago. Little did I know the turmoil that would follow that marriage proposal. Her parents announce to us that it would never last and that they were very disappointed in both of us. Don't look now but it has managed to survive.

The best news of all, she's a nurse. When you’re a cripple, it's nice to have your own personal 24/7 nurse and the price is right. Too bad I can’t send her down to do my next speech. I guess you can't hope for everything.