Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas, and I will be spending my day with family, relaxing and enjoying traditions I have done since I was a kid. Some of my best memories growing up are of Christmas- putting milk and cookies out for Santa, waking up excitedly to brag to my sisters that I "heard" the reindeers on the roof, rushing down the stairs at my Gramma's house with my cousins to see the tree. Yes, that nerdy child on the left with the giant glasses is me in kindergarten! Looking at old pictures like this one brings back such good, happy memories. It is at times like this that I can't let myself forget all that I have to be thankful for.

Today I am thinking of all the special kids who have come into my life and taught me important lessons about myself and about who I want to be. I believe strongly that everything happens for a reason.

On my very first humanitarian trip, in the Dominican Republic the summer after I graduated high school, we visited an orphanage in Santiago for children with special needs. I remember walking through the doors to a huge room filled with cribs and beds. A few of the kids were tied to their cribs. Others were lying on the floor. Some banged their heads against the crib wall over and over again, and one had a big bruise on his forehead because of this.

I remember feeling like the breath was knocked out of me. How had I never known that kids lived like this? I spent the day feeling utterly and completely helpless. I met Rosie, who had been abandoned in a garbage bag. I met Luis, who was unable to speak but who was as bright as any other child and who had an adorable sense of humour, teasing some of the volunteers and making us all laugh.

I recently found the below photos on a friend's facebook of that day and all the feelings came rushing back. I would end up returning to this orphanage many times over the coming few years. I haven't been back in awhile, and think about these kids often. I don't think it was by chance that they came into my life.








I am thankful for these kids; thankful that they started me on the road to working with the special needs population and opened my eyes to a world I didn't know existed. I wonder how they are doing today. Do they feel loved? Are they enjoying Christmas in a special way with the orphanage caretakers and with the other children who live with them? Christmas is a special day for many of us, but I think we also need to make it a time to give back to those who are hurting, who are alone, who are outcasted. I wish everyone, especially those kids in the pictures who I have never forgotten, a very Merry Christmas!

This post is one in a December series of National Blog Posting Month, where I am advocating for children with special needs. To make a difference in the life of someone living with special needs, check out THIS POST.

As a sidenote, tomorrow Chris and I leave for backpacking across Guatemala and Belize. I will be back on January 10th, and in the meantime the rest of my posts for NaBloPoMo have been written and scheduled to post for the rest of December.