Time stops for no one - December 24th

(Posted December 28, 2010)

If I could stop the clock just once in my life ... this Christmas Eve would have been the day.

When I awoke on Christmas Eve I felt refreshed and energized. I was sure that I could make up for the 24 days I missed. I was ready to make a massive Christmas Eve dinner, make my once-a-year Christmas Chocolate Chip cookies for my husband (I hate cooking so he gets them only once a year), unwrap the gifts I wrapped yesterday in ugly paper, and rewrap them in beautiful holiday paper, matching bows and artful name tags ... and then, like sand in an hour glass, all that energy slipped away. I found myself thinking about a nap.

My son arrived around noon. It was so wonderful to see him at home rather than at a medical facility. He brought my two grand dogs, Meathead and Grimace. I greatly missed all three of my grand dogs. I see those mutts normally several times a week - something I almost entirely missed in December. Once we had 3 dogs in the house, we had the normal confusion and craziness that these 3 dogs together bring.

Our plans for this Christmas Eve had included hosting a dinner for son's girlfriend and her family. While I was in rehab with mom, her family delivered a beautiful Christmas evergreen table piece and a tasty chicken dish. We were so touched by their generous gift. Unfortunately we were forced to postpone the Christmas Eve dinner when I realized that mom might not be home for Christmas. If she was home, our ability to put together a dinner for 12 people was probably over ambitious. We are looking forward to seeing them in January ... sort of a winter celebration rather than a Christmas one. As I was thinking about that nap on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I realized that postponing that dinner, while disappointing, was probably my only choice.

My daughter made the yearly Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were yummy. I made Shells and Meatballs with tomato sauce for our dinner. Simple and fast. It was good - not fancy but definitely better than 85% of what had sustained me in December.

We opened our presents after dinner. Since the kids hit their teens, we open our gifts on Christmas Eve. It is grand to have our "kids" with us on Christmas Eve. I know that in the future our holiday traditions will change as the demands on their time change, but for now, it was really good.

My son decided to spend the night and his girl friend came around 10:30 pm to spend the night with us as well. Our living room became a big sleep over with 3 people and 3 dogs. It was a happy and cozy way to close out our Christmas Eve.

As much as I want more time on Christmas Eve, the time we had was great.