It was 7 days until Christmas, and Leila was extremely excited. She loved Christmas. She loved the presents, she loved the crafts, but most of all she loved having all of her family together and eating too much.
Leila’s Mummy and Daddy had put up the Christmas tree, and Leila and Mummy were making some more decorations for it. They had already made some paper snowflakes and painted some wooden cutouts of the Nativity scene. Now they were working on baubles. These were no ordinary baubles though: they had little photos of their family members inside them. Mummy was cutting out the photographs and Leila was adding decorations like small sparkly stars and glitter, to make them look snowy. It was quite messy.
“Oops!” Leila cried as a pile of glitter landed on the floor. “Sorry Mummy.”
“Oh dear, not again.” Sighed Mummy, reaching for the dust pan and brush for the third time that morning.
“Glitter is quite messy, isn’t it?” Mummy asked.
“Definitely.” Agreed Leila.
Leila was filling up a bauble with a picture of her Gran and Grandad in it. They had big smiles. She put in extra glitter because she loved them very much.
“Mummy, I wish that Arlo could be with us this Christmas.” She said.
“Me too!” Agreed Mummy, reaching over to give Leila a hug.
“I really miss him.”
“So do Daddy and I. We think about him every day.” Replied Mummy.
“How old would Arlo be now, of he was still alive?” Asked Leila.
“He would be 2 now. Just imagine, he would be getting his fingers in the glitter, and pulling the baubles off the tree!” Answered Mummy.
“Yeah, I think that he would be very cute, but also a mischief.”
“I think so too.” Agreed Mummy.
“Look, here is a photo of you holding Arlo when he was very little. Shall we make this into a special memory bauble?”
“Yes please. I think that it will be the best bauble ever.” Said Leila.
They had some tiny heart stickers, which Leila added to the outside of the bauble to show that it was an extra special one.
When it was finished, Leila held the bauble in her hand and smiled.
“It’s beautiful.” Said Mummy.
“Sometimes I feel sad when I think that Arlo is missing out on Christmas.” Admitted Leila.
“Me too darling. But we will always remember him and always love him, won’t we? Do you remember that time that he weed all over Daddy when he changed his nappy?”
“Oh yes, that was hilarious!” Laughed Leila.
Mummy and Leila hung all of the baubles onto the Christmas tree. They all looked good, but the one of Leila and her little brother was especially lovely. A ray of sunshine came in through the window and made it sparkle.
Mummy and Leila looked at each other and smiled.
“It’s like he’s saying hello.”
…
Christmas can be a difficult time for bereaved people. If you have been affected by baby or child loss, here are some places that offer support.
https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/family-life/bereavement-support
Just another blog 