Since the early breaths of December frosts, when my birthday candles grew brighter leading the way into my next decade, my youngest daughter and I have planned on visiting the Zoo Lights at the Calgary Zoo. Yet, as sometimes happens, the tapestry of life unraveled our plans, and we found ourselves postponing the adventure.

However, one night, over a dinner where laughter danced between the clinks of cutlery, we extended an invitation to my cherished friend Jane and her daughter CJ – whom I fondly call TaDa (Tall Daughter) as she calls me ShoMo (Short Mother). And so, under a celestial dome of an obsidian ocean, the four of us finally reveled in the enchanting embrace of the Calgary Zoo’s ‘Zoo Lights’ Wednesday night.

It was a night embroidered with wonder, our hearts awash in all the colours of awe we could imagine. High above, the sky was a vast canvas of mystery, while around us, the earth transformed into a fairy-tale land. Tree trunks, bare yet proud, wore garlands of twinkling lights, painting the air with whimsical shapes and vibrant hues. Along the pathways, animal figures crafted from lights stood as silent sentinels, guiding our journey through a maze of sparkling bulbs – reds and greens, whites and blues, yellows and purple – all serenading us with the symphony of distant music and the bubbling laughter of children.

In this magical realm, I was reminded of the extraordinary tapestry of female relationships – a bond that transcends the ordinary, weaving through the realms of friendship and familial love. These connections are a mosaic of acceptance, understanding, tolerance, and, most profoundly, Love.

My journey as a mother has been a river of endless joy, a gift that continually enriches my life, filling voids left by past longings. Though my relationship with my own mother was a challenging voyage, where I strove to bridge a chasm with love and understanding, it was a journey of growth, nonetheless. A journey that enriched and informed my transformation as a mother.

The bonds I share with my daughters today and the beautiful threads we share with Jane and CJ are rooted in a garden of shared experiences, having weathered storms and basked in sunlit clearings together. In this sacred space, judgment and expectations dissolve into the ether; there’s only the warmth of unspoken understanding and unconditional Love.

Wandering through the luminescent wonderland of Zoo Lights, each step was buoyed by gratitude. Gratitude for the incredible women in my life who infuse my days with joy, laughter, and an abundance of Love – and who tease me lovingly as I tease them.

In that moment, under the celestial tapestry and amidst the kaleidoscope of lights, I felt the profound truth of my blessings.

I am one lucky woman.

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Thank you CJ for sharing all the photos! 

If you’ve haven’t been to Zoolights yet and are in or around Calgary, do go! It’s magical. – and only on until Sunday evening, January 7.