I’ll say it like this: I hope your Christmas was infinitely better than mine.
I’m writing this post two days after Christmas…while Brandon is sick with the flu, Harlyn has a double ear infection and cold, and Mav has a bad cold. Actually, he’s starting to cry out in bed, while B and Harlyn are fast asleep. It’s not even 8:30 pm. I’m sick too, except when you’re the mom, you have to be the least sick so that you can still take care of everyone.
This Christmas was, well, different. It was the first Christmas I’ve ever spent without my sister, and the first I’ve ever spent WITH my brother. It was the first Christmas that my mom and stepdad, Rick, actually live in NC. It was the first Christmas that Brandon, Harlyn, Maverick and I were all simultaneously sick. It was the first Christmas where everyone went home at the end of the evening, and it just felt sad. We’ve always either been guests or had guests staying on Christmas.
ANYWAY. Let’s back up..because before I went totally down on the 23rd, I did have a few fun and delightful Christmas festivities.
On the Thursday before Christmas, my dad took me, my sister and my brother out for a nice dinner. We had such a fun time! The last time we’d been able to do anything with just the four of us was in 2016, so it felt pretty special. Before my brother got out of school, it was just my dad, Liv and me, and we enjoyed going to a few stores together.
On the Friday before Christmas, my sister was in town for her second and final day, so I took another half day off work and was able to spend the afternoon with my mom, sister, and Harlyn (and Rick!), We watched Christmas movies, made cookies and decorated them, had hot chocolate, and had such a wonderful time, even though Harlyn was definitely getting sick by this point. After work, Brandon and Mav joined in the fun so we could do gifts for Liv before she had to leave.
On Saturday, Harlyn and I took my mom to see The Nutcracker. Harlyn was under the weather for sure, but rallied for the ballet. After that, I got her right home and she was down and out the rest of the day.
I don’t even remember Sunday or Monday. My guess is that everyone was lying around half dead all day.
By Christmas Eve, we knew we had to get. It. together. My mom’s birthday is on Christmas Eve, and we were her only birthday plans. So I made a cake, got us all out the door for church, and after church we did a little pizza, cake, and present action.
On Christmas Day, we got up and did presents, got the turkey in the oven, and then Brandon made us brunch. My mom and Rick came over about noon to do another round of presents and help get dinner ready. At 2, my dad and brother came over for early Christmas dinner (and the 3rd round of presents. Yikes!). And although we weren’t feeling the best, I will say that dinner turned out AMAZING. Our turkey was on point!! I’m sad to report that we didn’t take ONE picture of Christmas Day after taking a couple of just the kids first thing that morning. TOTAL FAIL, but I never even did my hair and makeup and Brandon was just in lounge clothes, so i know why it didn’t happen.
Now that we’re a couple days past Christmas, I wish we could just have a redo once we all get better. It hardly felt like Christmas with all of us being so sick and miserable for days before and after. Brandon’s been sick for 2+ weeks, and it’s just been really hard. Since redos don’t exist, I’m just ready to take down all the Christmas decorations and try it all again next year.
All that said, I am still thankful for the many blessings we’ve been given. Yes, colds and flus are no fun. Neither are double ear infections. But we are generally healthy and I thank God every single day for that. We have family who love us, a warm cozy home, food to eat, great jobs, and so much more. So while I totally whined in this post, just know…I realize that Christmas is not about any of that. It’s about the birth of Jesus. What a privilege it is to have a Savior, a King, and a Friend in Him.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas…a little bit late. 🙂
