On the twelfth day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me..the special gift of her presence. It’s been a long, exhausting week leading up to Christmas with my daughter hospitalized. So when we received the news yesterday that she would be discharged just in time for Christmas, my heart was overjoyed. Even though she is still recovering from her illness and not fully her energetic self, just sitting on the sofa with her watching “Polar Express” and “The Santa Clause” with her was such a wonderful gift.

Today, she’s been eating a little more, hasn’t had a fever since being discharged from the hospital, and her coughing isn’t as much as it was jus a day ago. Thinking about my five year old possibly not being present in our lives makes me want to be even more present. We might not be able to do many of our Christmas Eve traditions with Quinn needing to rest often, but I’m okay with that. We still have our baby girl and will have many more opportunities to create memorable moments.

Sometimes, we receive an abundance of gifts or take our time getting around to opening gifts a person put time and effort into getting or making for us. Whether it’s your child, significant other, parent, relative, or friend, don’t wait to “open up.” Please be sure to let them know that their presence is a special gift: not just on Christmas but every chance you get.

All the best,

Tanya