Throwback Thursday Laura’s Loves.
Once upon a time my arthritis was so persistent that I had to be in a wheelchair for seven years.
At the beginning of this journey ,we joined up with ‘The Arthritis Society’ to get some support and ideas for how to proceed in our ‘new normal’.
One Christmas time, my whole family decided to race in Calgary’s “Jingle Bell Run” to raise money for folks with this disease.
Terry created a Santa’s sleigh out of my chair and our youngest girls , as “Santa” and his elf, would be pulled by three ‘reindeer’. Our team was called ,”Laura’s Loves” and to this day I well up with tears when I think about those sweet….dears. (deers!)
We all have memories of Christmas’ past. Some not so good for many families and some beautiful ones captured in a snow globe moment of time in our mind’s eye.
I know we all have thoughts about our own Christmas experiences with our mums and dads, brothers or sisters, aunts, uncles, pets….
I have wonderful memories of having a very hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve because of my excitement about Santa’s impending arrival. My 3 sisters and I …in one room, 2 double beds…woke up WAY too early and so did our brother.
It was always magical. The soft lights on the tree illuminating the pretty wrapped gifts underneath, the soft “Oooooohs” and “Ahhhhhhhs” escaping from our mouths as we realized that Santa had truly arrived once again.
As a parent myself now, I know how much love I feel and felt when I witnessed the excitement of my own children when they slept under the tree on Christmas Eve eve and then their wonderful reactions to Santa’s small bounty of presents on Christmas morning.
And now my grandchildren are starting to arrive here and my heart is full again.
It’s been 3 years since our whole family has been together and as of the writing of this blog I’m not absolutely sure they will all be able to arrive due to Covid concerns.
But we ALL feel that this is essential travel as we are all feeling the weight of mental health worries and difficult years. Our son, Darren, said this is a different version of the ‘roaring twenties’. Covid has charged in like a lion.
Luckily, we believe in the lion lying down with ‘the Lamb’ and this lamb is here to save us.