Dear Editor
With the Christmas season quickly approaching and, the streets and stores filling our hearts with Christmas cheer, I would like to believe in the positive messages being sent to us. Unfortunately for some of us it becomes a constant reminder of what we cannot afford and other letdowns of Christmas.
For the last few years Christmas has been a difficult time, but every year I muster up the strength to embrace the season to give my children the best Christmas possible. Once again this year I bundled up my children and braced myself to pay a visit to Santa. To my surprise, it was exactly that, "pay" to see Santa. Well, it wasn't quite like that, my girls could see Santa, but in order to bring home a photo you must pay. This is not a bad thing in itself. The sign stating "no phone or cameras allowed" is what sickened me. My nine-year-old daughter caught the look on my face and said, "it's OK, Mommy, I don't need a picture. I'm basically too big to see Santa anyways." My heart began to break at the sight of my autistic three-year-old already comfortably seated upon Santa's knee.
Anyone with any understanding of autism would know that to get her to speak, look at or touch anyone is a difficult task. So, to see Santa bridge that gap is a Christmas miracle. This moment should be forever captured in time, because it may never happen again. Before I saw the sign "no cameras or phones" I quickly reached into my purse for my cell phone only to be told I wasn't allowed to take a picture. I quickly made the choice to pay the $20 to not lose this maybe once in a lifetime chance.
The cost isn't so much an issue for me because it has been worth every penny to watch her several times a day stare endlessly at the photo of herself, her sister and Santa while naming them proudly.
This experience brings tears of joy to my eyes watching her. Unfortunately, this is not where the tears stop. It also brings tears of sadness thinking of all the children and parents who return home without a memory locked in time that will forever put a smile their face.
I believe in today's times we all could leave with a photo. Almost everyone has or knows someone with a cell phone. I encourage those who can support the photo opportunity to still purchase one, but don't take from those who cannot during a time of giving.
Please take down the "no cameras" sign and don't further burden those who have enough on their plate already.
Carolin Palmer
North Battleford
