Sisters send surprise transcontinental hug to dad on peace mission
By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor
Photos Courtesy of Aly Anstey
Four-year-old Arya and three-year-old Syrah are getting excited about Christmas, but know it’s the first year without their daddy.
When Cpt. Michael Anstey received his deployment for Operation REASSURANCE in June, the family was aware he would miss his daughter’s first day of preschool, birthday parties and holidays. So while his wife Aly is picking up the slack, ensuring everything about this Christmas season is nothing short of magical –visiting the Celebration of Lights and the Canadian Pacific Railway’s holiday train – the girls also participated in Canada Post’s Write a Letter to Santa initiative.
At the top of their list the girls asked Santa to deliver a hug to their dad who is stationed in Latvia as a finance officer – 7,500 km away.
“I looked at her and thought, OK, that seems innocent enough, and wrote it into the letter,” said Aly whose girls also asked for a Cinderella and Ariel. “They signed their names and then we sent it off. I was thinking, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could do something to make that hug come true? As we grow up, Christmas is not that big of a deal, but when you have kids you go all out. The girls are his princesses and I think he’s having more of a tough time than we are.”
That same night Michael messaged his wife informing her that none other than one of their idols, the Dragon Den’s Arlene Dickinson, was coming to visit the troops. Without great expectations, Aly sent an email to Dickinson introducing herself and the girls and asking whether it would be possible to deliver the hug. Shortly after, she received a reply that Dickinson was no longer going to visit the troops but the message would be passed on. The mother of two didn’t give it another thought until her husband recently sent her images of TSN SportsCentre host Kate Bierness calling Michael on stage, reading out the email and delivering the hug.
“In front of all Canadian personnel, Kate read my wife’s email and I can say that there were certainly a few tears throughout the room,” said Michael in correspondence from Latvia. “It was a bittersweet moment; receiving a hug that I knew my daughters had sent but couldn’t give themselves. I know that as the month progresses it may become much more difficult. I’m extremely lucky in one sense, in that my wife has been very supportive. Being away for so long can certainly be challenging but also makes you realize how much you love and cherish the family and friends you have in your life. Our time together is precious.”
Cpt. Anstey is a logistics officer and deployed as a finance officer for the mission that is part of a multinational NATO Battle Group to deter any potential aggression in the Baltics and ensuring stability within. While he had previously been deployed in Kuwait in August 2016 with Operation IMPACT, it didn’t span over the holiday season and only took a month.
Having been gone since June, the family has a deployment board posted underneath the kitchen counter with pictures of the family, a map with the flight route and a sack of Hershey’s Kisses; every morning the girls get to have one Hershey’s Kiss from their dad.
Although Michael’s father, Bruce Anstey, travelled from Newfoundland to visit the family for two weeks over Christmas, Aly wants to make sure her daughters don’t feel a void.
“I think I fail to realize that children are resilient, but at the same time I have this sense of guilt that I need to fill in for daddy while he’s away for Christmas, so I’m trying my hardest,” she said.
“When I showed the girls the pictures, Arya said, ‘Oh my god, Santa sent a hug, it’s a lady giving daddy a hug.’ You could see in the pictures when he’s getting the hug, his eyes are closed and he’s really taking it in, and that meant a lot to me. I think he was yearning a bit for that physical touch. It was pretty magical to see their wish coming to fruition like that.
“Because we have each other, the girls have me and I have the girls. When I have a bad day I have the girls and Michael doesn’t have anybody to hug, and a hug goes a long way.”
Shortly after the hug was delivered, Aly also received a letter from Arlene Dickinson herself thanking Aly and the girls for their contribution.
The family is going to keep the decorations up and save opening the presents for when Michael is expected to return at the end of January.