Sue & Bill
Ascha & Aerem
Chester (Hurtt) & Baby Emma
Sue writes:
It's Christmas Eve down here in Oz, and in an hour or so it will be Christmas Day.
Well, very early morning Christmas Day, I admit,
and St Nicholas won't yet have found his way to Wombat Bend,
I don't suppose. He's got such a looooong way to come.
Yet if the occasional scampering of five eagerdales to the back door during this evening
tells me anything, it's that Something Is Afoot (Apaw?) and they'd better watch out,
they'd better be good, cuz Santa Paws is coming tonight . . . .
The living room is decorated with scarlet & gold tinsel draped around each window
and shining in the soft light; there's a gorgeous wreath of tiny coloured lights -
lovingly made by a dear friend - hanging in the big window next to the double doors;
the dining table has now become the Christmas Table,
as putting things on the floor is somewhat hazardous and oh-so-tempting
to those same five eagerdales.
In the centre, there's a beautiful bowl of tall-stemmed
deep blue hydrangeas, a gift today from my very best friend;
beside it are three baskets, each piled high with parcels -
most of which seem to have Airedale names on the tags.
This is the first real chance I have had to open our Secret Santa box,
which actually arrived a month ago when we were in the thick of Ascha's CVS episode
and subsequent very alarming bout of fluid around her heart.
Our dear Secret Santa, Patti Webster, was very understanding
when I wrote to explain our delay in opening her box -
and then of course came the saddest of news,
that beloved Biscuit had moved on to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
It hardly seemed appropriate to be excited over Patti & Biscuit's gifts
when we were sharing the heartbreak of saying goodbye to Biscuit.
But tonight, as the Five As are all now settled quietly on their beds
(with their paws over their eyes as they pretend to be asleep),
I can tell Patti that the basket that is filled with all the treats & gifts
which she & Biscuit packed for us will be carefully opened one by one;
each will hold a memory of this dearest of Airedales;
and don't we often marvel that even though we may never meet,
we can love each other's dogs as though they were our own?
Dear Biscuit, we did not know that when you & your Mommy were packing this box,
you were getting ready to make your farewells and move on.
So our Secret Santa box this year is even more special.
Thank you, Patti & Biscuit - all these gifts will be especially treasured.
And the other reason for writing tonight is to say another thank you.
A thank you that extends all the way around the world
to each & every person on the lists -
to us down here at Wombat Bend in southern Australia,
you are an amazing & dearly-loved family, generous beyond words,
with hearts that are the biggest in the world.
Bill & I will never forget, nor cease to be astonished,
at the flood of support, love, comfort, Airedollars & letters, cards & emails
which followed the catastrophic bushfires of February this year.
You cannot possibly know just what you did for us -
you sustained us and gave us strength in a never-ending
stream that still takes my breath away. You helped us to take care of burned &
injured wildlife and you shared with us the deeply-felt shock that so ravaged
our communities and which is still exacting a price, both physically & pyschologically.
And in recent weeks, when we have been so anxious about Ascha
and the mystery surrounding her ill health,
so many of you wrote to send your love & concern that I have not yet
managed to write individually with our appreciation.
Please know that every one of your emails has been kept & filed
in Ascha's folder; for each of them I am very thankful.
There's nothing quite like the outpouring of responses
when any of us needs an outstretched hand.
So as we turn the corner into another year,
and we look back together at the journeys we've all made in this one,
and we unwrap the gifts that are the tokens of our love and feelings for each other,
to me it is very simple. Together we have created a family that is like no other,
and amongst the many gifts that will be given & received over the next few days,
symbols of renewal, there is one simple expression that -
although it never seems adequate - is the best there is.
THANK YOU. Thank you for being all that you are,
to each of us when we need a shoulder, a hug, a smile and a laugh,
in times of grief and times of joy, times of hardship and times of great need,
and times of celebration - you are all simply the best in the world.
Now, I think I heard a scrabbling on the roof . . . . Shshhhhhshhhhhhhhhhhh.
I've turned off all the lights except the wreath.
There's just a glow in the room.
There's somebody moving s l o w l y - v e r y s l o w l y.
I just caught a glimpse of red & white . . . .
And a foot stamping - a snuffle or two . . . .
'Night 'night, everyone - we are tiptoeing upstairs,
we'd better get to bed now!
Sue (shhhhhhhhhhh Ascha, Aerem, Chester, Emma & Chilli,
don't make a sound - go to sleep!)
See the Firestorms at Wombat Bend HERE
AIREDALE RESCUE VICTORIA
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