Ugly Sweater Cookie Contests and EA/TEF Memories
Ugly sweater cookie contests and EA/TEF memories. What could they possible have in common? The answer is plenty, thanks to a recent Facebook post by a dear friend named Barb. She posted a picture about the ugly sweater cookie contest she hosted during her family’s 2019 Christmas gathering and asked Facebook friends to vote for the ugliest.*
Of course, I thought, Barb held an ugly sweater cookie contest at Christmas. That sounds just like her.
We met Barb and her young family way back when, when we lived in a remote town of 92 people in the northwest corner of South Dakota. Her 2 oldest daughters were in my country school classroom, and Barb created beautiful birthday cakes for them each year. Word got out, and since our town was at least 60 miles from the nearest bakery, she was soon creating cakes for all sorts of occasions.
She even created a cake for our EA/TEF baby’s first birthday in 1983. The cake featured a baby-with-a-feeding-tube-and-a-string-coming-out-of-his-mouth. Those who are used to 2020 EA/TEF technology may not be familiar with the 1982 version. Our baby’s feeding tube was a honking, huge Foley balloon catheter. The string went into his mouth, down his esophagus (placed there during a very dicey surgery), into his stomach, and out the feeding tube hole. The two ends were tied in a knot that was untied so dilation tubes could be attached to it when his repair scar needed to be stretched. Our baby endured this process, without anesthesia, about 2 dozen times. Thankfully, modern day dilations are less frequent, more effective, and much more humane.
To read the rest of this post, visit Different Dream’s sister blog, Down the Gravel Road.
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the monthly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up at the bottom of this page.
By Jolene
Jolene Philo is a published author, speaker, wife, and mother of a son with special needs.
Subscribe for Updates from Jolene
Related Posts
Sharing Special Needs Love this Valentine’s Day
Sharing special needs love on Valentine’s Day is a way to show gratitude & give back to those who support caregiving families all year long. Check out these simple ideas.
When We Seek the Mind of Christ
On the coldest day of the year, I discovered how God moves our hearts to seek the mind of Christ in mundane and uncomfortable circumstances.
The Gift of Disability
After God added the gift of disability to my Christmas list via a broken foot, He slowly taught 10 lessons to show why He put it there.
0 Comments