Christmas is Over

It was a quiet Christmas this year.  Gone are the big family Christmases of the past.  They diminished a little with the loss of my mother in 2005, but even a bit more when my father moved from the home we all gathered at.  Fortunately, we all still try to get together as much as we can for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It’s difficult, because two of my siblings live on the west coast.  I have a brother in Toronto, three siblings in Ottawa, my dad is in Napanee and I, of course, am in Cobourg.  We also have obligations with our spouses’ families as well, of course, but at least we try to get together.

It’s interesting, because there are eight kids in my family.  At least there were.  We lost our oldest brother to cancer five years ago.  Despite, or perhaps even because, six of us are adopted, we continue to keep in touch and try to get together when we can.

Back to Christmas.  I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that I wasn’t sure if my youngest daughter would be coming for Christmas because she works in the retail world and this is a very busy time for those folks.  She was given Christmas Eve off, so she came up that morning.  Kaitlyn had to be back for an early shift at Holt Renfrew on Boxing Day, so we had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, opened gifts Christmas morning and then had leftovers for lunch before she took the afternoon train home to get ready for work the next morning.

Fortunately, my oldest daughter had come from the city last Monday and was able to stay until early Sunday morning.  That allowed us to do some baking together and enjoy Christmas together and she was even able to join us at Dad’s, where his girlfriend Sally prepared a lovely lunch and delicious dinner, despite being quite under the weather.  God love her.  My family members from Toronto and Ottawa were also able to join us for a lovely day in Napanee.

I now have a resting week that my MS has been begging for, for a while. I’m afraid that I need to give in a bit more these days, if I’m going to continue working.  But that’s okay.  It has now been 21 years that I have been aware of the MS and I am still upright.  It is quite a blessing, I know!

So, I pray that everyone had a great Christmas with family and friends and also pray that the New Year brings good health, joy and prosperity to all!

Almost Here!

As I write my weekly blog, I think about the past year and everything that happened and how fast it whipped by!  I also think about the days ahead, leading to Christmas, as well as Christmas itself and New Year celebrations!  This has always been my favorite time of year.

Yesterday, I bought the last of the Christmas gifts and today is wrapping day.  Tomorrow I start baking (probably just pies, for now) and Monday, I go into the city to have Christmas lunch with my good friend Viv and will bring my oldest daughter back with me for the week!  It will be nice to have her here.  We have more baking planned!

This will be the Christmas with the fewest people that I have had for a while.  It will just be Cavan and I with my two daughters and since my youngest is working retail until she finishes school, she has to be back home Christmas Day to be ready for Holt Renfrew’s Boxing Day, which starts really early.  At least we will all be together for a little while.

Saturday, much of my family will be at my dad’s house.  My three siblings and their families who live in Ottawa should make it, as well as my brother David and his partner from Toronto, and then Cavan, my oldest daughter Alysse and me.  It should be a great time!

After that, I have a week of relaxing at home and catching up on the Christmas movies I haven’t gotten to yet.  I’ll try to get ambitious enough to do some organizing, as well!

Somewhere in there, we need to catch up with Cavan’s four kids and the rest of his family.  That isn’t planned yet, so we are trying to keep days available to fit that in.  We try to accommodate everyone.  We don’t want to miss anyone at Christmas!

Home Alone

Okay, I’m not actually home alone.  Who can possibly be alone with two cats in the house?

Cavan’s gone into the city to visit his uncle who is in Sunnybrook hospital.  Uncle Ron is recovering from surgery that removed his bladder, prostate and some of his rectum.  Ron had gone through radiation for prostate cancer and suffered complications that included the burning of part of his lower intestine with the radiation.  We are praying for a recovery.

I’m actually getting over some kind of bug, trivial compared to what Uncle Ron is going through!  I’m feeling better today, although still a bit weak and I think I still have a touch of a fever.  I’m not visiting the bathroom with the frequency I was yesterday, so I must be on the mend!  Mostly, I think I’m just worn out since it is the end of the year.  Nothing that a couple of week’s rest can’t fix, I’m sure.

Under the weather or not, I still have my second Christmas tree to decorate and a few little things to take care of today.  I think I can manage by working for a short while and resting for a while.  It’s back to work tomorrow!  Mind you, I will be working from home tomorrow and Thursday and just in the city Tuesday and Wednesday.  Friday, I begin vacation until the New Year!

Next weekend I need to finish up my gift wrapping and get my baking started.  I look forward to Christmas every year and yet it wears me out!  Mind you, it is a great celebration at the beginning of what is often a long and dull winter.  After the really nasty winter last year, I am becoming quite nervous about the drive home from work in the snowy darkness.  Snow never used to bother me.  Perhaps it’s just that I’m getting older? 

Oh well, nothing terribly exciting to blog about today.  I missed blogging last week because I was away in Ottawa and I usually blog on Saturdays, but I did not even have the energy to make it downstairs to my office yesterday.  So, today, I have at least gotten that far!

As I close my blog, I wish everyone a safe Christmas season.  Christmas is less than two weeks away!  God bless!