Not The Christmas We Planned...

Christmas Eve was to be spent together with #1 Son and his family. Handsome woke up with the same issue we've been dealing with - sometimes surgically - for the past ten years. Thankfully, he's completely healed from the brain issues, so that wasn't a concern. However, he won't be eating any solid food for at least the next week, so he insisted I go alone to our planned gathering.

I left home around 1:30 in the afternoon and was back in our driveway around 6:30 or 7 that evening. We had a lovely time, got in lots of visiting, and I managed to take a photograph of their family before leaving. #1 Son was trying to make sure their older Golden behaved himself for the picture, and I got this shot right before that boy (the dog) bolted toward me for kisses. 

Grandson immediately went and put on his Grammie's Jammies as soon as he unwrapped them, and they were a soft, warm hit. He said they were perfect. (Grandma sighed in relief that they fit and he loved them.)

Of course, I was concerned about Handsome, so that evening he and I discussed how he was feeling, hoping that he'd be better on Christmas Day. As it turned out, he wasn't, so I called #2 Son's household and had a conversation with Daughter-in-love #2. I'd offered to drive to their home to drop off the gifts and we'd postpone our dinner. She said it wasn't necessary that they get their gifts right away - they're all grownups, after all - and we could wait until Grandpa was feeling well enough for us to have the dinner we planned. I expressed our regrets, and the new plan was agreed to.

So, Christmas was very quiet for us. Instead of a farmhouse filled with people and the hustle and bustle of the holidays, there were naps, tea and the quiet, thankful togetherness. Thankful that he didn't feel he needed to go to the hospital (yet anyway), and that we have another Christmas with each other. We're grateful for every, single day.

We hope you had a lovely Christmas. 2024 is nearly over, and I feel like there's still stuff to do, but I'm not going to stress over it. Instead, I'm going to go with the flow. We'll see what's next as it comes, and hope for the best. I've said before, "I never challenge worse. Just when you say it can't get worse, it always does." So, I'll be pampering my dear husband, and helping him over yet another speed bump. It's what we do.

Happy Boxing Day!