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Making the Most of Christmas Past
Tuesday, January 2, 2018 at 07:44PM 
OK so today I realized how much in arrears I have become concerning owing you a blog post.
Apologies.
Mark it down to my Christmas illness, which was prolonged and most inconvenient.
I did intend to share with you pictures of my festive decorations. The ones that were removed from sight and almost entirely packed away by four thirty on the afternoon of Tuesday, December twenty-sixth.
Never before have I whisked the deck-the-hallsies away so fast but by Christmas night I was well and truly OVER IT.
In fact I told the kids after the long day of festivities, somewhere between opening gifts and watching a funny Christmas movie and eating yet more dessert:
If anyone happens to be watching my house in the morning they will see my front door open six inches and a claw reach out to jerk that lit-up wreath right down.
And that's exactly what happened. I was possessed. The trees got unplugged, the ornaments got shoved back into their storage boxes, the lights got wound up into tight balls (only way to store them), and the fake branches jammed back into giant black trash bags before they had a chance to even whisper in protest.
But let's back up the now-departed Yuletide train for a mo, shall we? Because I want to dwell on the past for a short while. I feel the need to recap that week when, in addition to it being Christmas, I had to cough every fifteen seconds and sneeze every fifteen minutes, followed by blowing my nose. Again. Rinse, repeat.
So here we go.
On Monday, December eighteenth, I woke up knowing I was coming down. With a cold. Notice I did not say a bad cold; I just said a cold. It was neither bad nor good; it simply was.
Considering that a cold was brewing, that day wasn't too uncomfortable for me; I felt okay. TG and I even went Christmas shopping that night. Wrapping up loose ends, as it were.
By the time we got home, I was feeling rough. But the coast was relatively clear until Thursday, when Stephanie, the out-of-town daughter, and her family were to show up for Melanie's birthday celebration and then spend the night for an early Christmas the next day.
On Tuesday, December nineteenth, I worked on finishing the collage table. I told you about it. We may not have put the glass back on top that night, but it was close. And yes; I felt much worse. Thanks for asking.
As you can see by the pictures, our table looks a great deal like it did before. Only, it's different.
On Wednesday, December twentieth, I felt truly dreadful and it was a thoroughly rainy day so I finished the table and worked on some lists of last-minute holiday-related tasks, and that's about all. My voice sounded like the gritty gravel strewn over the road to death's door.
On Thursday, December twenty-first, I felt no better but also no worse. I kept a positive attitude. Since a cold lasts about three days, as we drove across town for dinner out with the family prior to Melly's birthday party, I congratulated myself on having come through the storm with no lasting damage.
We had hamburgers and fries at Freddy's (without Stephanie and her family, as it turned out. My son-in-law is a pastor and earlier in the week, there had been a death in the congregation. Because the funeral was that day, they were delayed in leaving), then drove back home and had a blast at the birthday party.
I revealed the new table and the kids loved it, walking all around and pointing and looking for their pictures.
(The Coca-Cola cake was a big hit too even though in my state of distraction I neglected to fold marshmallows into the chocolatey batter before pouring it into the pan. I don't know what the mini marshmallows do to the finished product but it was fine without them. Next time I won't forget.)
That night we all went to bed excited about having Christmas the next day. All I had to do on Friday was make a big pot of sauce for a spaghetti supper; everything else was done.
Except.
During the wee small hours before dawn of Friday, December twenty-second, I woke up having taken a decided turn for the worse. My throat was so newly sore, it felt blistered. I had spiked a temperature.
I felt so ill that if I'd been dropped off at the intersection of Live and Die and told to find my own way home, I'm not at all sure which route I would have chosen.
I got up, though. I took a shower and dressed. I brushed my hair. I did not, however, apply cosmetics. Only a good moisturizer. Even though we had a houseful of guests, including our soon-to-be new son-in-law.
And that should tell you all you need to know about how ghastly I felt. If you conclude that I was phoning it in? You would be correct.
But the day progressed and Puffs Plus stock price tripled due to my use alone, and we ate the spaghetti supper I'd prepared and we opened gifts, and Stephanie's family left to go back to North Carolina, from whence they'd depart for Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, December twenty-third, I baked several loaves each of banana-nut and pumpkin bread, and made two batches of Russian Tea mix as well as homemade cranberry sauce, to jar up and wrap up and give to various friends and neighbors on Christmas Eve.
On Sunday, December twenty-fourth, I got up and went to church. That afternoon, after lunch at home, I baked a batch of mincemeat cookies. We went back to church at five o'clock for a short Christmas Eve service.
I had to leave the service in progress, however, and spent the rest of the time in the ladies room and the lobby, sneezing violently and hacking and coughing and practically strangling. Such a charming scene.
After church, we all traipsed over to the beautiful home of Chad's parents, where we enjoyed a delicious light meal and exchanged a few gifts.
We were back at the house by eight o'clock and I don't remember anything until the next morning except I prepared a huge pan of overnight cinnamon rolls and popped them into the fridge.
On the morning of the big day -- Monday, December twenty-fifth -- I continued ignoring my symptoms and baked the cinnamon rolls. Audrey, Dagny, and Erica had spent the night with us and we ate like fools, still wearing our jammies, washing all the sugar down with about a gallon of strong coffee.
(Feed a cold. I don't know about bronchitis but mine likes to eat too.)
I made a full Christmas dinner and we ate it and then it was time for presents. My wonderful family treated me to sweet things like Chanel No. 5 and Pandora charms for my bracelets and various other thoughtfulnesses.
At one point late in the evening, I announced my intention to pull everything down as soon as I'd had my coffee the next morning. No matter how bad I felt, I knew that doing so would make me feel better.
Even Chad mused: It all gets to be a bit much, the music and the lights ...
I couldn't have said it with more accuracy, more clarity or conviction. My sentiments but EXACTLY.
And so that is what I did. But I had taken pictures for you before I even got sick! And so I share them with you here in a spirit of semi-wistful nostalgia.
Yes! I finally feel better. Again, thanks for asking. I basically ignore New Year as a holiday; consequently, yesterday I did exactly nothing except make a pan of biscuits which we ate with various jams and jellies, and the requisite gallon of hot, strong coffee.
And now here we are in the babyhood of Twenty Eighteen, a year in which we have two weddings on the calendar before Mother's Day.
I hope it will be a good and profitable year for you too, full of love and laughter and all manner of familial delights, unfailing faith, new gifts, new glories, and the sweetness of dreams come true.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Tuesday :: Happy New Year
Reader Comments (7)
Oh Jenny! I'm sorry you were so sick, but thanks for making me laugh as I read through all your tales of infirmity! I was reading sections out loud to Bob who diagnosed you with a man cold. I did point out to him that even with a man cold, you carried and got things done, although you weren't wearing make-up. :) I'm ever so glad that you are feeling better now.
I had the 26th off and did the same as you. All my decorations were taken down, sorted and put away. I even cleaned a few cupboards out, but at 8 that night Bob told me I should quit because "you don't seem to know when to stop"! However, it makes me feel so good to have things organized and put away, and I know you feel the same.
Your table looks so nice. I'm sure everyone enjoyed seeing new pictures on it.
2018 is going to be a busy, but wonderful year for the Webers!
WOW! I would like to know how people like you get so much done when they are at the intersection of Live or Die! You are amazing! I wish you would send some of that grit up to me. Seriously, you did have a wonderful Christmas with your family in spite of it all. I like the new pictures on your table and I know that everyone in your family liked them too.
My Christmas décor will stay up for a few more months. Yes, you heard that right. It is because the decorations help us through the cold, bleak weather of Ohio. I wanted to take them down before my surgery on Monday, but Alan said to keep them up. I don't know if we will get them down by spring or not.
Blessings to you........Stay warm down there!
@Mari ... it was a super-size man cold that morphed into full blown bronchitis, but believe it or not, I have felt worse! Even so, I'm glad the worst is over. Happy New Year to you and all of yours. I can't bear to think about how cold it is where you live so I just won't. xoxo
@Cheryl ... I kept going and got it done because I had to. Also, if you're not so sick that you absolutely can do nothing except lie in bed (I've been there and I know you have too), it's actually nice to have something to do that isn't strenuous but which keeps the mind and the (oft-washed) hands occupied. I know how to cough and sneeze into the crook of my arm and as far as I know, no one caught it from me. I like your plan of keeping the warm cozy lights up throughout the bleak winter. And I will be praying for you on Monday and can't wait to hear the good report of your complete recovery. xoxo
Oh, Jenny. Not fair, not fair. I'm so sorry you were sick, but feeling better now.
After being gone for ten days, and coming home to a frigid house, I'm trying to warm up enough to take the decorations down. Maybe tomorrow; who said that, oh yeah, Scarlett. :)
Audrey and Andrew are getting married, right? Is Erica married? I know Stephanie is. I'm sorry, my brain has been on vacation.
Take care, and have a wonderful new year!
xoxo
@Sally ... Happy New Year! Andrew is getting married to Brittany on March 10th. Erica will marry Chad on May 4th. Don't worry; even we can barely keep it all straight. Haahaha keep warm! xoxo
Okay--this is craziness! How could you do all that?
By the way, our cold saying is: A cold will last a week, but it you treat it, it will be gone in 7 days.
You are an amazing woman!!!!!!!!!!
@Judy ... haaahaaha that is SO TRUE. There's not one thing you can do. And the way I did all that? Very simple: I had no choice. Rock and a hard place! There I was. But it's over now. xoxo