December 20th, 2017

Merry Christmas! I love.. the processor- the ability to hear the sounds esp. my daughter's voice. #cochlearamerica #journeyofsounds

Face painting with my daughter at LegoLand, Caliornia this past weekend! Never too old for face painting! #beyou #beyourself

Christmas is around the corner. My mind still takes me back to my childhood memories back in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York. If you take a look at my childhood snow globe during holiday season, you would see..

Dark silent nights of car rides driving in snow, quiet still houses with windows that have curtains and plug in candlelight sticks. Hearing the window wipers swishing back and forth to wipe the soundless snow.

White hills of snow where it welcomes my brother, friends and I to go sledding. My cold bones and bright pink cold skin. My hearing aids would get clogged up, it sounded hazy. From hours of the wetness cold air.

The sounds of fire crackles and rustles of newspapers on our wood burning stove every Christmas morning at five am before we drive to New York to be with my grandparents.

I had hearing aids until I was 15 years old, I got one cochlear implant which was my choice. Two weeks before my surgery was in mid December, my father and I would go for evening walks and look at Christmas lights. It was a new tradition. Symbol of new things ahead. My Cochlear Implant. The night before the surgery, my brother walked in to get his jacket to go out with college friends. He took a moment and comforted me when I cried in fear about the surgery. My mother was my nurse when I had to stay in bed for two weeks. (Back in 2000, cochlear implant surgeries were a lot different than today).

Ability to hear my daughter’s voice, watch Christmas magic plays and sightings with her, sing along songs with my preschoolers. Example:“Jingle Bells”. I never really heard and understood Christmas music when I was little.

I am thankful for my family who walked beside me during my hearing loss journey building my strength to where I am at today.
I am thankful for my daughter being patient with my hearing loss.
I am thankful for my staff for the Christmas season of learning Frosty Snowman and Jingle Bells music. I’m like the big Elf learning the music and storytelling with the hearing impaired kiddos!
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Merry Christmas to you all, my followers. Thank you for your support of Business Boutique Love, Ashlee Rose! There is still time for last minute shopping on my website.