I want you to go on a trip down memory lane with me. There will be me as a little girl going on a trip with my  family.

 

It is Christmas.  I love going on trips in the car with my family.  I am perhaps sitting next to my brothers as we travel to my grandparents home.  

 

I remember saying hello then looking around and being ready to go home so we can get ready for Santa to come.  

 

He has to find me at my house.  There is no other way this will work. 

 

Suddenly, others were smiling and saying that no, we are staying here tonight.  

It was not fun anymore.  I was no longer happy and this was serious business. 

 

Did no one understand?  Santa would have no idea where I was! We have to leave now. 

 

Confusion and perhaps a stamp of the foot came before tears.  

There is no consolation. 

Zero.  Zip.  I may have my coat nearby.  

 

Remember older brothers also teach how to fight and defend. 

Grandma Reassures

Then, my grandma led me into her bedroom and started to reassure me.  Of course Santa knows where you are.  I let him know!  We are not going to let you be lost to him. 

As simple as that, I was given calm and could feel the weight of the world lifted from my tiny shoulders as she gave me a hug.  

 

The universe was back in order.

 

I came out of that bedroom ready for what came next. 

 

Thank you, grandma.  

 

There have been other times when this feeling has returned in my life. When moments of not knowing are replaced by being known by simple gestures. 

 

Perhaps they have come for you, as well. 

 

I would like to share two more times when this has happened.

 

When we moved into our home, it felt as if the world was shifting.  

 

The neighborhood we left was a safe harbor.  Families and friends there knew us, had watched our son grow up for more than a decade and knew us as individuals and as a family. 

 

We had created a home with gardens and places to play inside and out. 

 

There were plans to grow old and develop independence for our son in that home. 

 

Of course, we changed with the needs of our family.  

 

Yet, no one knew us in the new home.  The holiday, including the Christmas season, was upon us as soon as the boxes were unpacked.  

Feeling Blue

It was like Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast.  We were feeling blue.  

 

And then, early one evening, the doorbell rang.  

 

Now, we did not have anyone coming to the house unless necessary as it was quite confusing to our son at the time. 

 

I took a chance and opened the door quickly.  There, on our step, was a lovely sight. 

The parents of one of my friends from high school stood there with sweet smiles. 

 

I could not believe my eyes! 

How did they know where we lived?  Who told them?  

 

An elf, they said. We know you are not able to stay at the door long so here.   

The envelope was given, a quick hug and they were off. 

 

I closed the door and suddenly tears were leaking down my cheeks.   

The gift was more than what was in the envelope.  

 

Someone knew we are here. We are not forgotten.  

 

It was a tender mercy.  Like when I was that young child all over again.  

Simple Gestures

Simple gestures with love and a smile at a time of year when hope can be given with such kindness. 

 

Oh my. 

 

Dare I continue with the final example? 

I must so I shall. 

 

Please remember that we moved to help our son stay physically safe.  His health had changed and he was not able to be in a home with stairs any longer.  

 

The same home that brought friends and hope and dreams suddenly did not compete with risk and possible harm. 

 

Moving brought new plans and quick action and exactness like we had not fathomed before. 

Including Dallin’s room.  This space must be in place to allow our son to know where he is as soon as he enters the space.

 

Measuring and reconfiguration was needed to make sure the bed could be at the right angle. So it happened with drywall and mud. No problem.

 

Then a new way to create a closet was imagined. 

 

Abracadabra!  

It came together. 

Final Touches

What final touches are necessary?  

 

Painting clouds on ceilings to bring calm. 

 

My brother painted the exact duplicate of colors on the walls and ceiling from the previous bedroom.  

Yes, including clouds on the ceiling.  

 

Magic happened on the final moving day.  Teams of people arrived to arrange each space in a blur of activity and things were in order by the time Dallin arrived. 

 

The result was plain.  He did not know where he was.  Our hearts sank as he worked to figure out why our stuff was in a new home. 

 

No recognition came.

 

As much as we had worked to prepare, to show him before what was going to happen, bring him along to the new home all along the way there was now a building insecurity in his eyes and body. 

 

Until.  He walked into his bedroom and looked up and around.   Whoa, he saw the clouds.  Only then did he feel like he could start to relax and then he did. 

 

Can you hear me? 

The clouds on the ceiling brought him calm as if he had walked into the only space that mattered. 

Universe Realigned

In that moment, life was good and the universe had realigned. 

Sometimes, complex moments have simple solutions. 

 

Being known matters.  When you are a little one and fearful that Santa will not know where to find you. Also when you are not as little and do not know if someone knows you. 

 

The time when you don’t know where you are or why. 

 

Who around us needs to know they are known, my friends?  

I will tell you it’s all of us.  

 

Let’s look around and see each other. It will bring calm, peace and new colors to our world.