It’s that time of year, Happy Holidays to everyone! It is December on the west coast of Canada, so we are in full rainstorm mode with a very rare scattering of snow, but it is definitely starting to feel a bit like the holiday season as the temperature drops. After a couple of months of conferences and meetings, it is nice to have time off to spend with family and friends. I want to use this month’s blog to discuss something that has taken me a long time to fully accept: the importance of embracing the fun during this time and taking photos and videos with the people you love. I have long struggled with the idea of candid photos; after years of struggling with photos in general, I am slowly starting to enjoy the idea of selfies or photos taken when I am prepared. However, those surprise photos, when maybe my asymmetry is highlighted, my marks are flaring up, or my glasses make my eyes look very different, those are still tough to accept, and it’s tempting to just delete them in the age of digital media.
However, I am working on it, and one of the main reasons why, is that sometimes, especially during this time of year, when I am looking back at photos of family and friends I have lost, its hard to remember all the images I had with them that I deleted because I didn’t like how I looked, or I was ashamed about how my condition looked in those photos/videos. So I want to take these holiday well-wishes to say – keep those photos. Yes, all of them, those photos of you with family and friends, as tempting as that delete button is, a few days later, when you see something you don’t like, you’re being reminded of your condition – keep the photo, you never know which ones will mean the most when you can’t take the photos anymore.
So, Happy Holidays to you and your family and friends, may your 2026 be filled with joy and short waitlists.