A Holiday Flame
Today’s Friday with Friends blogpost is written by Lily Rose. Lily is a pianist/composer, music educator and artist, who likes to do artsy things whenever possible. She believes that creative energy can have a multitude of outlets, and she shares with her 3 kids. She is a military mom to twins and a son who is living with autism.
The holiday season approaches and swiftly passes in a whirlwind of festivities, traditions and family gatherings. We start off with Thanksgiving and then Christmas, but for our family and other Jewish families across the globe, a little festival of lights known as Hanukkah, is the holiday in between the two. For our family, the candlelight of the Hanukiah (the Hanukkah candle display consisting of nine candles) symbolizes so much more then a commemoration of the miracle of Hanukkah — where the candle oil in the holy temple in Jerusalem lasted for eight nights, when it should have only lasted for one night.
We decided that Alex or I would alternate taking one of the twins as a mother-daughter/father-son activity, and try to build up their tolerance to the service little by little. Jake goes to Sunday school every week and the twins have a program called “Torah Tots” that meets once a month as well. For Jake, being in the classroom has been a challenge (just as it has in public school) because of his special needs. At this point, we are just happy to be able to expose him to Jewish culture, and whatever sinks in at this time is great by us.
Before I had kids I always thought that of course, they would be bilingual like me, with Hebrew and English. However, after the challenges that our family has gone through with speech delays and therapy for all three kids, and for Jake the Autism and global developmental delays as well, I am now of the mindset that if they speak one language well – well, that’s good enough for me. If they happen to pick up some Hebrew along the way, to any extent, then that’s just icing on the cake.
The holidays can present some sort of challenge for everyone – whether it be quirky family dynamics, loss of a loved one, special needs, travel discomforts, financial strain, a need for solitude, or just the general holiday chaos.
Whatever your holiday challenges may be, and whether you celebrate holidays or not,
I hope that you find that burning candle flame that holds your passion
– whatever it is that brings meaning and fulfillment to your life,
and a hope in your heart.
~ Season’s greetings from the Rose family to yours. ~
Lily Rose blogs at Lily and the Roses ~ Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures. This blog is her personal effort to raise autism awareness and support other families that are going through something similar – something that is very near and dear to her heart. She has also founded Puzzle Pieces and a sister-group, Puzzle Pieces Autism Support, two closed Facebook groups offering autism support for those in Montgomery, AL, where her family is currently stationed.
She also has a purely creative blog, called Creationlily, where she focuses on displaying her artwork. It is currently getting prepared for display, so please check back in from time to time and leave her a message to let her know which pieces speak to you the most!
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Military Special Needs Network 
Thank you for sharing MSNN and happy holidays! Lily
Thank YOU, Lily! The happiest of holidays to you and your wonderful family.