Holiday Magical Moment with Lululemon
You may have noticed in my recent Instagram stories that I asked for you all to share your holiday magical moments in an effort to learn more about what you all do during the holidays and what brings you joy. I followed up by also asking “if I were Santa, or a wish-granter of sorts, what would you ask me for in order to make your magical moment come true?” This probably seemed like a pretty odd question to those watching my story, but I loved reading through the responses. While I wish I could grant every single person’s wish, it unfortunately is not feasible. However, what I was able to do thanks to the support of Lululemon, was to grant two special people’s wishes and help make their holiday magical moments come true. Yes, you read that right!
Last week I received an email from Lululemon with the opportunity to surprise three members of my community with making their wish come true. At first, I figured I read the email incorrectly. While I have had some incredible partnerships with brands in the past, I’ve never been given the opportunity to so effortlessly help others and allow my community to directly benefit from my work on my platform. After going through the large amount of entries, I finally decided which two wishes I was going to grant, with the help of Lululemon.
The first wish was submitted by a woman on behalf of her close friend:
“I would love to help my family friend with getting more things for her special needs classroom”.
I asked for a bit more information and found out that this friend not only has four kids of her own, with two being under the age of three, but is also putting in as much time and effort as she possibly can into teaching her students. She is driven to make sure they are having the best education possible as well as a safe and calming environment for those in need. I personally do not feel the educators in this world are given enough credit for or assistance with their work, especially in the special needs department. With that, we were able to fulfill this wish by purchasing an amazon wish list of appliances, toys, and crafts for the classroom all while making sure both women were decked out in Lululemon gear.
The second wish was submitted by a daughter who was hoping to make it home to Florida to be with her mother while she went through chemo. Although she is unable to actually make it home for Christmas due to work, we are granting her wish by flying her home to be by her mother’s side the next time she is able to take time off. After learning more about her mother, I am in awe of her strength. She is a single mom of five and has been battling terminal cancer for the past few years. Through this all, she has managed to never complain and continue to put her kids first before herself, even when she needs to be taken care of. The daughter who submitted this wish graduated high school early and began college in order to have a more flexible schedule to help raise her siblings, but has since moved to Virginia for school and work in order to brighten her future. She let us know that.
“the opportunity to go home and have time together is the greatest gift you could ever give.”
Of course, we are also making sure both her and her mother are dressed in some new gear!
The third wish was also submitted by a daughter who wrote in,
“to go on a girls trip to celebrate my mom being 1 year cancer free”
When I opened conversation to hear more about her and her mother, I learned that she has personally gone through some extreme health struggles and spent most of her childhood and teen years in and out of the hospital and doctor’s offices seeing a long list of specialists. Her mother, at the time, was still working full time as an RN in a level 1 ER and a flight nurse but, no matter how long of a 12 or 24 hour shift she had, would always be there for her in the hospital by her side. Even when she spent two months in a hospital 3 hours away from home, her mom was always there when she needed her. Since her health struggles, her mom has helped her get back on track by being her advocate when she needed one and adjusting her diet and lifestyle. Two years after all of these health struggles, the roles reversed when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she became her caretaker. Because of the diagnosis and everything that went into the treatment, they had to put their girls trip plans on hold. Now her mother is currently in remission for about a year, and their dream is to escape the cold and take that girls trip they’ve always talked about to Key West. Thanks to Lululemon, we are making that happen!
For me, there is nothing like the gift of giving. I am so grateful to be in a position where I am able to assist in making people’s wishes come true and that I have relationships with such incredible brands, such as Lululemon, that have allowed me to use my platform in such a meaningful and impactful way. While granting wishes such as these and providing such large gifts is not something we are all able to do, I encourage everyone reading this to focus on doing things for others this holiday season. Whether big or large, the act of giving can go a long way.
Separately from this work with Lululemon, someone submitted the response of,
“to get drinks with you and a group of my friends.”
Feeling like Santa and trying to make as many wishes come true, I responded “tell me when and where!” This week I met up with her and her wonderful group of friends for a drink where we got to chat all things Freckled Foodie. I answered all of there questions and was able to connect with my community, which is one of my favorite parts of this platform. Sending love to my W&L crew of ladies!
I will continue to post updates and photos to the post as I receive information from the two selected entrees.
This post was not sponsored by Lululemon, but I feel a personal obligation to share this story with you all and the gratitude I have towards this brand. With that, here are a few of my favorite current items they are selling!
