Saturday morning...and I don't have to go anywhere, today. What a blissful feeling! Of course, I do have to make a rather unpleasant phone call soon. It's city stuff, to a resident who isn't following the rules. I'm blogging now, so I can put if off for awhile longer. I don't enjoy getting cursed at by old women in tank tops who don't wear bras. I'd much rather write! Or even go to the dentist...
Well, it's the new year and Christmas is over - thankfully. I can't remember a Christmas where I was just so thankful to have it done! I don't know if it was the stress of having two more children to buy and prepare for, just the stress of this last year, the fact that I haven't been feeling well for months...I don't know. I hate that because I normally love Christmas! Maybe next year will be better!
Paul was working crazy hours Christmas week. We had intended to do our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. But he didn't get home until 3 in the morning! So, instead, we did it around 7 and then hotfooted it over to Council Bluffs for the day. Paul's family is oblivious. We had several people ask us that day, "So, who are the girls?" I don't think anybody actually talks to anybody in that family.
The Christmas Eve service at church was really neat. Tammy performed the piece I wrote. I was nervous. It was the last thing scheduled that night and my heart was just flip-flopping around while I listened to all the other musical things being done. I had intended to go out into the foyer while she performed, but ended up just sitting and listening. It was ...amazing. She became Rachael (my character). Tammy even went so far as to make up her face to look like she had been burned (you'll have to ask me for a copy of the story to understand). Afterwards, our pastor gave a final few words and he was fighting tears - I was so touched that he was touched by my story. But it really wasn't my story, which is why I got more and more uncomfortable the more people told me how much they liked it. Yes, I wrote it. But this fall I was coming up against the time Tammy needed it so she could start memorizing and I just had nothing! So one morning I prayed that God would give me a story and very quickly afterwards, Rachael's story began forming in my mind. So I really think I was just the fingertips God used to tell a story that He had in mind.
A few days later Tammy gave me a gift. She had created a clay figuring of Rachael - just beautiful. I think it was my favorite Christmas gift this year! I put it on one of my kitchen shelves so I can look at it all the time.
A couple of days later I drove up to Waterloo with the kids. That was nice, although a lot of people were fighting illnesses, which is understandable. But it did diminish the fun somewhat. Even Lizzie had a tummy ache for some of the time up there. But she was fine. She seems to have a pretty strong immune system, unlike her mother (me). I stopped by and saw Sara and then came home.
And that was our Christmas this year! I had had thoughts that perhaps this year would be magical. After all it would be our first Christmas with the girls. Maybe next year will be magical. Everything was just a little too new this year, I think. Maybe I'll be healthier next year and Paul won't be on-call, either. Maybe I'll be in a happier mental place, too. We'll see!
No comments:
Post a Comment