A sweater for Aunt Elle, a red fire truck for Little Jimmy, and a new Barbie doll for Ari, the list goes on and on.
And on that day there will be smiles and fleeting jubilation!
Yes, you may catch Aunt Elle in her newest fashion – or not. Jimmy may spend countless hours on the floor raising and lowering the ladder to save his action figure trapped in the tower made of legos – or – if he receives the newest X-Box or PlayStation – the firetruck may sink into oblivion to be found many springs from now in the back of his closet. And Ari well who knows – Barbie will be found with her hair tossed about barely clad.
As we move about filling in every moment of our day with “important” things, thinking of the perfect gift, we are just as happy when the season is over and life returns to normal.
But what does “normal” look like?
For you it may be work, school for the kids, basketball and dance practice, music, drama, piano lessons, you name it.
But what if Normal looked like:
- A 50-mile round trip to the local VA twice a week for a doctor or physical therapy appointment
- Depleting your medical supply reserve as you wait for the 3rd delivery hoping that this one will be correct
- Having your veteran spouse, the sole provider of your family, suddenly fall ill and die, leaving you and your children without an income until survivor benefits start which could take 2-3 months
- Waking, or rather not really sleeping, because of the tremendous pain that riddles the body of your veteran and their moans, that keep you ever alert
Sadly, for so many of our caregiver families, their normal is not the best, and the holidays, are just days, filled with much of the same.
We are thankful to the support of organizations like the TD Foundation, Azalea Charities, and another anonymous donor who have allowed us to make the holidays a little lighter and a little brighter for our caregiver families.
But our emphasis cannot be on the season, or the moment, we have to look into the future, create opportunities, and raise awareness and resources to continue to support our caregiver families year-round. Thank you all for your support now and all year long as the Wounded Veteran Family Care Program gives the most precious gift of all to our caregivers – the gift of an improved quality of life and a slightly better future.