One week till Christmas Eve, the date of my family soup supper at my house. My house is a complete and utter wreck, brought about simply by moving out my old sofa to make room for the one I’m adopting from sister Joanne’s house (it’s red!). The guys won’t be bringing it until Saturday, but straightening up now would be a waste of time. So, for now, Skipper and I are without a sofa from which to watch a movie or browse Facebook, and the first floor of my house looks like a war zone.
I haven’t wrapped even one package. Some of them haven’t even arrived yet. I did get a few Christmas cards mailed and a cake baked for a friend yesterday.
And I’m pushing through the pain admirably. At least I admire myself for doing it. Not only does the pain have to be defeated to get anything done, so does the very strong and persistent desire to go to bed and forget the whole thing.
Why do the holidays have to be so stressful? I don’t think this is what Jesus intended. I’ve always loved Christmas, but it has always, for one reason or another, been an occasion of extreme stress for me. There were the years when there was no money, the years of marital disaster (first marriage, not Vann), the years of family estrangement, the year when the cat destroyed the Christmas tree--and for the past few years, the inability to bend, reach, or lift painfree and the least modicum of grace.
But, as one of my most favorite cliche sayings goes, there’s always something to be thankful for. That thing is coffee this morning.
NOTE: The ornaments in the blue bowl each holds a memory for me. Mama made the pink one. A quilting bee friend, Jean, made the white one on the occasion of my marriage to Vann (the bee gave me a bridal shower). A coworker, dear friend, and fellow quilter Rhonda made the green-and-red folded star ball. And the yo-yo ornament came from one of the prop sales that were held each year at Oxmoor House.
This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.
On 12/17/2019, Nicole said ...
You've got this Susan. It will all come together in the end. How fun to get a red sofa, and especially one that was your sister's. Happy holidays!
On 12/17/2019, Rega said ...
I admire your strength. I know it will all come together. I wish you a blessed Christmas and a happy and especially healthy 2020.
On 12/17/2019, Barbara Anne said ...
I'm so excited that you'll soon have Joanne's red sofa (sks, a 'chesterfield' as it is called in VA!) and it will go so well with your decor plus it already holds good memories.
Take things one at a time in order of priorities: mail the stuff that needs to go far, order or buy the gifts that are needed, wrap what has arrived (and dig our the gift bags for the late arrivals), plan your menu for Christmas Eve, vacuum where the red sofa will go, and then put your feet up. The rest will fall into place and will use just bits of your energy. Oh, and remember to breathe.
Big hugs!
-----
No comments:
Post a Comment