End of year

The last month of 2012 was incredibly busy.  Ruby was getting ready for her P1 nativity, in which she was a Twinkling Star.  Esme was getting ready for Santa, and everything that comes with that when you are 3 years old and actually "get it" for the first time.  We were all doing a count down until our visit from Nana and Papa Arty.  We spent time getting all decorated, and presents wished for and bought.  It is a crazy month when you have two little girls who are enthralled with all the magic that happens at the end of December.

With the wish list came the realisation by the girls that they really didn't have anything they truly needed.  Sure there were some new toys that looked very cool, and crafty things won't go wrong when found under the tree on christmas morning.  But the girls needed to realise again how lucky and privileged they are, and not everyone has such a carefree life as they do.  We spoke to the girls and suggested that in lieu of one of their gifts this year, that they use that money towards a charity of their choice.  Of course we had to explain what a charity was, and all that, but the girls were really excited to be able to choose a charity and then help others in this world.  Ruby has been learning to read in P1, and i have told her that not all girls get to go to school let alone learn to read, and that in some countries there are no books or schools for children to go to.  Ruby decided that she wanted her money to go to those children, especially girls who wanted to learn to read like she is doing right now.  For Ruby we chose the charity Room to Read http://www.roomtoread.org/.  Esme, is completely enthralled with elephants right now, so she wanted her donation to go to "elephant babies who have no mommies or daddies", so we chose The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/.  We hope to have this become a tradition that we do every year with the girls.

It has been a long year with many milestones, great memories, and we have much to look forward to in the coming year.  It is hard when you are in the midst of the daily grind to step back and assess your life and realise that it is wonderful and that you have much to be thankful for.  This year, whenever I hit a tough patch I thought of my friend Becca whose son Ben has been battling cancer this past year.  He turned 2 in October while undergoing Chemo for a cancer that he was given a 5% chance of beating.  I can't imagine how hard things are for them, and I think about them daily.  when i am frustrated with esme getting her shoes on or with ruby not wanting to practice her phonics, i try to remember that it is  nothing compared to what Becca and her partner Tom are dealing with everyday.  They have spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in UCLA medical centre, and here's to the hope that Ben will be home soon, and cured, and able to show us how wonderful and beautiful life is for decades to come.....