A Most Unusual Christmas

I had a very unusual, but joyous Christmas. In order to have the noon meal with Mike, I needed to leave before 9:00am. Dad had a rough night so was sleeping soundly in the morning, but I woke him up anyway so that they could open their gifts before I left. I had created a couple of special gifts for them and was excited to see them opened. It was a bit rushed, but we had a few minutes together and then I was on the road.

At The Harbor, I wheeled Mike from the dining room to a seating area in the hall and there gave him his gifts. I should have saved the book until I was ready to leave, because as soon as he opened it, all he wanted to do was read. Maybe due to the book, he was not as interactive as he had been during the last 2 visits, but He had a fairly good day.

We were able to v-chat with his Mom and both of our boys and their families, plus talked with his Dad. Mike didn't do much talking, but at least we made contact. Dinner was OK. Maybe the regular cook was on vacation which is a good thing!

Since Mike was preoccupied with his book, I went through all of his stuff, organizing and throwing out as needed. There had been quite an accumulation of magazines, other folks clothing, coloring books, stuffed animals, shoes, etc.  I know it won't last, but it made me feel better and gave me something to do. Mike would watch me and then back to reading.

I left after 4 pm and enjoyed a very relaxed evening and a light supper with my Aunt and my cousin. We talked, laughed, enjoyed our meal and watched a movie. It had been a full day and I went to bed very tired and content.

On Tuesday, all of my sisters and some of their children and grands came to the farm. We had a fun and chaotic time with our annual While Elephant exchange on Wednesday night, playing games, and trying to feed 28 people (half the amount of people that could have been here). Everyone left on Thursday and it's been rather quiet since, except during the football bowl games. Way to go VT Hokies! What in the world happened OSU Buckeyes?

On Friday I called and tried to talk with Mike, but that rarely works. It didn't that day either. However, yesterday I received a call from my favorite med tech, C. She said "Someone wants to talk to you." Here's how the conversation went (bold letters because Mike has one volume - yell!):

Mike: "SONGS OF CHRISTMAS, HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING, JINGLE BELLS, AWAY IN A MANGER!"

Me: "Do you want to sing one of those songs?"

silence

I hear C in the background. C: "Tell Jennifer that you went to church today."

Mike: "HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING, AWAY IN A MANGER, IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!"

Me singing: "Hark the herald angels sing - sing with me Mike, you know the words - glory to the newborn King."

Mike: "SONGS OF CHRISTMAS, HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING, JINGLE BELLS, AWAY IN A MANGER!"

Me: "Did you go to church?"

Mike: "YES! HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING, AWAY IN A MANGER, IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!"

Even though he was stuck, at least he was stuck on something different than normal and it was a joyful conversation just to hear him excited about the songs and reading from the program of the church service that was held at The Harbor yesterday morning. It is also the reason that C is my favorite. The fact that she would take the time out of her busy schedule to look up my number and call, because she knew it would bring me joy to hear Mike's excitement. That type of thing is what makes her an excellent caregiver and very special to me.

I hope each of you had a special Christmas season in one way or another. Mine was unusual and spread out and fun and chaotic and relaxing and memorable and most of all precious since I had the privilege of being with so many wonderful people. 

With. That reminds me of the real reason for Christmas. The celebration of Jesus' birth. Immanuel, God with us. Isn't it amazing that the God of the universe sent His only Son to be with us?  Not only that, but He also made a way for us to one day be with Him through His Son's death and resurrection. It boggles my mind that He desires a relationship with us, but He truly does and He paid a huge price to draw us to Himself. What a precious gift!

Matthew 1:23 (ESV)

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).