Welcome to Georgia's Journey

Georgia Lily Lucas was born at home on October 6th, 2008 4:15am, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) on April 1, 2009.

On April 3rd Georgia was taken home, to be near her sisters and the rest of her family and friends. Nearly three weeks later, on April 21, 2009, she died peacefully -- in the loving arms of her mother and in the same room in which she was born.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Top 10...Well, Actually 11 Memories of Portugal

10. The trees - orange, lemon, cork, flowering olive etc.
9. The giant Calla lilies growing wild everywhere.
8. Eating freshly picked oranges. Mmmmm.
7. Watching the 2010 Olympics on Euro Sport. Loved those Scottish announcers and the German commercials!
6. Staring in bewilderment at the pound of sand left in the bathtub after every one of the girls' baths. : )
5. Eating Chicken Piri Piri. Yum!
4. Watching Calla help her little sister do up her zipper on more than one occasion. At home she never feels like she has the time!
3. Watching Maya draw her first family picture!
2. Admiring Calla's golden tan (the first one ever)!
1. Bearing witness to Maya casting not just her swimsuit aside but all of her worries and anxieties about the world.

And then of course there is the most important one that cannot be explained in just one sentence. At some point on the beach, watching the girls run around and scream in delight, watching and listening to the waves I felt an almost forgotten feeling of contentment. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't have a few moments where I wondered if Georgia would have loved the waves and sand like her sisters. Would she have tried to run in and out of the water like them, or would she have been content to play in the sand? Maybe she would have hated the whole experience. I don't know. As these thoughts rolled through my head however, I didn't find myself feeling sad like I normally would. Instead, I found myself smiling and realized something spectacular. I had found peace. For a few brief moments I was totally calm and content with the world.

Is that feeling ever present? Nope! I am now back to winterland and facing everyday realities. The memories of the beach however will serve to remind me in the difficult weeks to come that I am getting there - inch by inch - moment by moment.

Love to you all,

Kristen