Merry Christmas

Well, after a hard round of antibiotics and eight days of fever, I can now announce… that I am still sick. Yes, the germs have decided to camp out in my body for a while, and no amount of sleeping and pleading can get them to go away. I assure all you mothers out there that I am getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids, and eating as healthily as I can.

At least on Christmas day I felt well enough to gather around the tree with my parents and four siblings. Eric and Sarah gave me a convertible dress/skirt; Christian gave me earbuds; Mary gave me a security pouch for my passport and a Hostelling International membership. Add fair-trade chocolate and some music my boyfriend sent me, and a calendar planner from his grandmother, and it was quite the bounteous Christmas! I was happy, however, at the end of the night, to be able to pick up all my presents easily with two hands. 

My super-awesome nighty-night Christmas jammies make everything better.

That said, the day was spent in dullness. I’m sick; Mom’s sick; Dad and Mary are getting over sickness; Eric and Sarah were exhausted from getting up early. We didn’t do much. I napped a bit. We sat in the livingroom. A few of us watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.

In years past, I would have cried myself to sleep, since the day wasn’t everything I hoped it would be. However, last night I snuggled into the covers, and was content— everyone wasn’t at top of their game, but at least we were together. There’s always next year. Next Christmas has always seemed so impossibly far away. But the older I get, the more I realize that next Christmas will be here before I can put on my stockings. 

Is it just me, or am I actually growing up?

~Lisa Shafter