2022 has been an emotional roller coaster! The year started off fantastic with my return to LOCR! My beautiful daughter Jenna is a few months shy of becoming a teenager and she has outgrown everything I bought her just a few months ago! My husband and I are considering buying stock in Lululemon and Nike! It is so true when they say, “Don’t blink.” The photo below seems like it was yesterday. But it was actually 2015, a few weeks after we adopted our Great Pyrenees, Otis. Great Pyrenees are small livestock guardian dogs, so Otis would often stand over Jenna to “protect” her when she was little. They are the most incredible gentle giants. –Marie Sheva
Otis and Jenna, January 2015. Though he is an “old man” now, Otis is still doing great. Jenna no longer fits underneath him!
Although I have many wonderful memories, the greatest holiday memory is the Christmas my husband Mike and I got engaged.
Christmas was at my parents’home and their guests included my brother and nana. Mike was in cahoots with my parents, who knew he was going to wait until all the gifts were opened before he planned to propose. My nana and I were very close, but she was also very sick, and he wanted to include her knowing she would most likely not be around to witness our ceremony.
After we all finished opening our gifts, my family (even the dog!) disappeared from the room and left me to clean up while my nana watched. As I placed the last torn wrapping paper into the recyclable bag, I was called. As I turned, Mike was standing there presenting my ring with the rest of the family behind him to watch. An engagement is so special, but the fact that he wanted to include one of the most influential females in my life, made it even more special.
My nana passed peacefully on April 1, 2021, six months before our wedding ceremony.
-Alise Vieira
For myself, one of the sweetest words I have ever heard is “Nana.”
-Zelda Rosenbaum
