LETTER

Thank you / Merci à tous 

As another year starts and we are hopeful for it to be a better one, I can’t help but to reflect on the support my family has received from this wonderful community. 

When my husband and I moved here from Ottawa in 2002, little did we know about the hardships we were about to face and the beautiful community that would eventually wrap their arms around us. 

Despite our hardships, I can be nothing but grateful for the support that Aylmer families have given us. The fundraisers you held allowed both Jason and I to be away from our jobs and stay home with our children but the endless compassion you showed gave us the strength to carry on. You were the pillars that kept our devastated family from crumbling. 

How I wish I could list every kind and beautiful thing that you all have done for us and oh how I wish I could sit down and write a thank you card to each and every single one of you but it would take forever. 

Thank you to South Hull Elementary School and Symmes D’Arcy High School for your endless support in helping my children and their sibling to adapt to school while living with cancer.

On dit que ça prend un village pour élever un enfant. Gens d’Aylmer, vous étiez notre village. Celui qui nous a soutenus et fortifiés durant les moments les plus difficiles. 

Thank you Aylmer families and businesses. From fundraisers, candle vigils, meal trains, prayers, smoke ceremonies, donating your time to renovate our home (thank you Bedard-Gagnon family) just to name a few, this support goes back 10 years ago when my son was first diagnosed with cancer. When my daughter was diagnosed, you all stepped up a thousand times more but when both my children relapsed at the same time, well, the support was absolutely indescribable. 

Aylmer is a place like no other. To live here is to truly know what a community is all about. To live here is to know love. There will never be a way I can truly express my gratitude but I am hoping this letter is a start. 

Nous ne savons pas ce que l’avenir nous réserve. Les mois et les années à venir continueront à être éprouvants. Mais malgré les défis qui nous attendent, sachant que notre merveilleuse communauté sera là pour veiller sur nous, nous consolés et ça nous rassure. Nous ne sommes pas seuls.

From my family to yours,  from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Merci! 

Liliane Hajjar and the 

Randell family, Aylmer