(I need to quit reaching for catchy titles & just step back to ordinary journal-type headings: “Wed the 13th”, “Tues the 19th”, etc…)
But last Wednesday truly was the 13th - I wasn’t starting my workday feeling too hot anyway, but things got dramatically worse when I arrived to find no Dr M!!! Turned out she had neglected to inform us that her husband had his follow-up appts at MD Anderson and we had a double-booked schedule with a full slate of surgeries… Somehow we got it all done, but that was a brutal day. This week is also fully booked, but not quite as hectic.
So this may be “as good as it gets” for Val’s Xmas decor: I unboxed & set up my beloved Lenox Nativity set. I’ve been collecting these pieces for almost 30 years.
You would guess correctly if you presume the Donkey to be my favorite - of course I have concentrated on the animals; now “China Jewels” is discontinued and I have to shop eBay if I contemplate filling out my set. But I haven’t added anything for many years now - they all fit nicely in a small box, and there’s not much more room on the top of this bookcase. I don’t know where I’d display it if I bought the full crèche?
But we should be blessed with Dr M’s presence tomorrow, which will free up my Wed afternoon to scrape together a few paltry things for Xmas. As usual, my husband offers me no clues: “I haven’t really thought about Christmas!” while what Z wants in HIS stocking is a paid receipt for his property taxes. There’s nothing on earth I could purchase that would satisfy my mother unless I could somehow magically reverse the hands of time - resuscitating my dad & putting them back in their house. At least I managed to coax her into the shower last Sunday; it had probably been a good solid month since she’d bathed. (The health care aides have been asking her, but she has been declining their help.)
I had loaned a small sum to my housekeeper (remember, kids - never loan out any amount of money you’re not prepared to write off as a gift!) and while she thought she’d be able to pay me back, she just asked me if she could work this off instead. This may work out as a win-win for me, since I can ask her to devote some extra time to projects like decluttering the garage and the attic.
So I better get on with things for now - one last gulp of coffee to pour down!
It's some kind of miracle that when we look back on hard times, they are transformed into good times. Kind of fits in with the last meme, there.
ReplyDeleteI have very strong Christmas wishes for you and yours. It's been one of those "tough years", clearly. I love the nativity set... I have one that I bought the first year I moved back to Nebraska, nothing fancy, just from JC Penney. But it, like yours, is white porcelain. My donkey has a flopped ear. And it's a reminder of why we observe this holiday... the grace and hope it provides in the dark.
(( hugs ))
- Barb
OKM
Yikes on your Wednesday the 13th surgery schedule. Sounds like a total nightmare!!
ReplyDeleteLove the nativity set. I have a homemade one that my MIL made. It is kinky weird. This should give you a good laugh. She lost one of the wise men so she substituted a Merlon the Magician for it. LOL. It has pigs, a chicken, goat, a horse. LOL. Not to scale. My hubby hated his mother's obsession with crafts. In her defense she did some good work. This is not one of them but it probably gives God a good laugh. LOL. She was a Sunday school teacher for 40 plus years like my maternal grandma. This horrible blasphemy wouldn't keep them out of Heaven. LOL. They were really saints.
The unbathed mother of the month club had me almost gagging. OMG. I think you deserve a medal. I had to give my mom a bath once. I was considering murdering her at the time. She lucked out.
My husband has the same rule regarding loaning money. My motto is more rigid - never a borrower or lender be.