I totally do not have my shit together this holiday season. Some may argue that I haven't had it together this entire year, or at least, this school year (and I'll totally own that, because I am self-aware enough to realize it, just not able to fix it). I haven't finished decorating the house for Christmas, and while no one visiting my house would know it, I do, I'm woefully behind on Christmas shopping, and anything I need to order will most definitely not make it to our house before the tree gets put away for another year. Haven't made one cookie and only one batch of candy (fudge that in all honesty didn't turn out well).
What's that, you say? I'm being a cotton-headed ninny muggins?!
Let me turn it around and tell you about my thankfuls for the week instead:
1. My dad had a heart procedure done about a month and a half ago when he had a Watchman device inserted into his heart to help prevent blood clots caused by AFib. Monday, he had a scope done to see if the Watchman was doing its job, and the good news is that IT IS! He now gets to stop taking a blood thinner (without going into gory detail, the combination of thin skin and a strong blood thinner meant every time he brushed against something, his skin tore and he lost what seemed to be buckets of blood). Within three days, he could tell a difference!
2. My son was able to come home this week for a few days. He got here on Monday, arriving at the hospital just before they took my dad back for his procedure. My dad had been given loopy juice in his IV and invited my son to go with him to the OR. The nurse's eyes got big and panicky, like she thought my son was going to storm the OR, but he said, "Well, Papa, I don't have any scrubs with me, aaaand I don't work here." The nurse looked greatly relieved.
3. It was a hard week to take time off of work, as it was finals week at the university, as our college student workers had other priorities (imagine that!), but I got to take off early two days to spend time with my son, and I'm HUGELY grateful to Ceason and Nikki for getting my room covered so I could do that. Love you both!
4. He can move away to attend school, get married, and become a physician, but that goofy, curious, little kid is still in there, right under the surface. At least this time, when he started pushing buttons and touching things he shouldn't (i.e., the monitor displaying my dad's vitals in the hospital), he knew what he was doing!
5. In spite of my general failure to conquer the holidays this year, I did have gifts purchased AND WRAPPED for my son to take back home.
6. Before he headed back to Little Rock, he stopped at my school. I had told my nugs that my little boy was going to come by and visit, and when I brought him into the classroom and introduced him as such, my littles stopped what they were doing and looked him up and down, mouths open. They weren't expecting my "baby" to be 6'4" with a beard!
7. I got the Christmas gifts from my nugs to their parents AND the ones from me to them completed, wrapped (thanks to two of my student workers, Baylee and Ashley), and sent home. Whew!
8. Friday, I drove to Kansas City to spend a couple of days with my daughter and to do some Christmas shopping. I found a couple of fun gift shops to visit, thanks to a Kansas City facebook page that I belong to. Pictures of one of my finds in a future post, because, you know, Christmas gift....
9. Saturday night, I had THE BEST time with one of my oldest and dearest friends. Jan and I met in second grade, and we went to school together all the way through elementary school, junior high, high school, AND COLLEGE. So, yeah, we know where all the bodies are buried. We drove all over Kansas City looking at Christmas lights and laughing and talking (her daughter rode with us for part of the night until she couldn't take us any longer, and we dropped her off at home). I can't tell you how many hours during our friendship that she and I have clocked by driving around in a car together (I would say "aimlessly" driving around, but we always had some aim or purpose). We even drove past Patrick Mahomes' house (where he has a GINORMOUS inflatable reindeer in his yard, but the giant Santa had fallen over and the Christmas lights were lovely).
10. Today, I am going to attend church IN PERSON. I appreciate the opportunity to do it via the livestream every week, but attending in person is the BEST. In fact, I'm going to take a shower now and get ready to go!
Take a few minutes to write down your thankfuls and post them with us at the Ten Things of Thankful. The holiday stuff can wait for a few minutes. Or hours. Or you just let some things go, because it's not about getting all the decorations displayed or looking for the perfect gift. Maybe it's a little bit more....
You are not a whatever you called yourself, and i don't like it when people call my friends names, even (and maybe especially) when my friends are doing it to themselves. You've had troubles, it's okay.
ReplyDeleteI pray you have a blessed and beautiful Christmas season, all of it.