Tribute to parents
Of course, I would like to offer it to all parents. They are out of breath juggling the pandemic, strikes, sick children, COVID-19 tests, the wait. All this while working and comforting our little loves. They have become great experts in this circus art. However, quite selfishly, I would like to offer hope to my beautiful Anik, my daughter. Mom of two wonderful boys full of energy. Anik has been my heroine for over three years. Until recently, she miraculously juggled all the current challenges while being the spouse of a passionate man, but unfortunately suffering from a third cancer since 2018. Give birth to a second child between two chemotherapy treatments, hold the family at arm’s length during the treatments, the hospitalizations, the interminable waits for the results of tests, biopsies, scans… All of this is my daughter. Anik is a warrior, a resilient woman, positive despite the anxiety and uncertainty. Now exhausted, she has agreed to stop to take a break and rebuild her physical and mental health. My wish: that the year 2022 be the year of healing. As long as there is hope, love, everything will be fine. I love you.
Sylvie Delisle
The end, finally!
The best gift for everyone? It would be that this pandemic ends in 2022 everywhere on earth with the extinction of this virus and its variants!
Lorraine Vanier, L’Assomption
The healing
The greatest gift would be healing for my son, who has been fighting for four years.
Rita Couturier
Think of me
The best gift would be for me. Let me explain. Since I was born into a family of 15 children (I am the seventh), I have had my large share of responsibilities quite young. Educated and raised by the Ursuline nuns, who influenced my education, my dedication was always for others. And that’s what I practiced all my life until I was 70, when I decided to think about myself before I died. The most beautiful gift comes back to me: to live MY life.
Lina Pellerin
Our caregivers
I wish a little time with the family to all our caregivers in hospitals and CHSLDs, which they have not had for two years. I wish them the best holidays possible.
Therese Duquette
My daughter Marie
How sweet it would be, my dear daughter Marie, to offer you a key that would open the world of possibilities so that you can flourish in a rewarding job for you, a beautiful 26-year-old young woman who lives with Down’s syndrome. You have so many beautiful things to offer and your underutilized potential is so fruitful to those who take the time to discover it and the means to make it emerge. But in this inclusive world that I dream of for you as well as for all the people of your condition, Marie, it will take decision-makers who believe in you, concrete actions that break down the barriers of immobility as well as the cover prints of the each for his cause. This wonderful gift would allow you to have a place in a community where your status as a full citizen would be recognized. Your life would be changed and improved, but also mine, me, your mother, your caregiver who loves you and sees you with the eyes of a heart that beats and fights to recognize the beauty of your singularity. Merry Christmas, my sweet Marie!
Anik Larose
With family
My greatest gift would be to receive my children and grandchildren (14 people) in the same place for two nights with simple meals, including an outdoor activity. I’m 76 years old and I don’t have the space, the energy or the means to find all of this. Thank you for allowing me to dream, even if it brings up emotions.
Pierrette Bisson
Hope
At the risk of sounding selfish, it is I who personally give myself a gift this year. After an operation for prostate cancer in March 2021, I am waiting for my third APS blood test and I have decided to give myself a gift: I have bought myself the hope of a remission from cancer. Because I want to live my life fully with my wife, my children and my grandchildren. I am sure they will understand my choice. And to all those who are in a fragile health situation, I wish you good luck and a happy holiday season!
Francois Laurent
The joy of living
If there is one gift that I would like to give more than anything, I would give it to my oldest daughter. She who worked so hard to become a teacher and who has become a “Madame Geneviève” adored by her nursery school wolves! At each new school year, she welcomes her new cohort with unconditional love and the promise she makes to herself to give them the desire to learn and the confidence to succeed, one step at a time. This year, she failed to fulfill her promise: the overload of cases of children with special needs, linked to a lack of resources, has led her to burnout. What I would like to offer my daughter this year is the return of her joie de vivre and her balance.
Monique Desrochers