Christmas Part 1

Christmas came and went in such a hurry that part of me wonders if it ever really happened. The month of December became such a flurry of activity that it's no wonder its become such a blur. Ramon and I decided after Thanksgiving that we would go to Reno after all for the holiday. Unfortunately, by then airline prices were a bit too expensive so we decided to make the long drive across the country. Neither of us had done this particular drive, and it took a lot of convincing up until the last minute to convince Ramon it would be an adventure.

In the meantime, since we were driving and not limited on what gifts we could take, I went to work. I had a little less than two weeks to get everyone's gifts together, and for some unexplained reason I decided I would make quilts. I have no idea what possessed me to undertake such a last minute project, and I have no idea how I was able to get all four done.

I vaguely remember the wee hours of the morning and blistered fingers, but it was worth all the stress. They turned out really cute as you can see. However, I don't think I will do such a last minute ordeal again.

In preparing for the journey, most things that could go wrong did. My husband was going to fix up car #1 so we could drive in comfort, good gas mileage, and ease. I caught a horrible cold that promptly turned into bronchitis, and was kind enough to share it with my husband. Since that set back his time frame of fixing car #1, we decided to revert to car #2. 9pm the night before we leave and Ramon is finishing the last journey preparations of changing the oil. It's done, ready to go, he turns on the engine and there's a horrendous loud clanking noise all of a sudden that wasn't there before. Not good. After a few hours of stress and research we can't discover the source of the noise. Okay, nothing we can do but sleep fitfully on it. The morning comes and we were still at a major road block of what to do. Tension was high and stress was out the window. After a half hour of frantically searching the internet, we were able to find an affordable rental car that could survive our 1700 mile journey there. They rest of the morning was still frantic and stressful in getting things together, but we were out the door and headed on our way by 2pm. My husband is a trooper. We drove straight through the night, arriving at our destination around 11pm the following evening bleary eyed and exhausted. But we made it.

So, most people would have realized that after the falling apart of car #2 a cross country trip at Christmas time was probably a big sign that we shouldn't go. But I'm about as stubborn as they come, and it was critical that we went there for Christmas. Why you may ask? The beginning of December my mother was diagnosed with Leukemia and was shortly admitted to the hospital. This year would be hard on everyone with her spending the holidays in the hospital going through chemo, but it would be especially hard on her and my dad. I wanted to be there. A year goes by faster than we want to admit and who knows what events are waiting in store for us? Needless to say, Christmas was a different experience. We spent a lot of time at the hospital playing an addicting game called rummicube, and each day I went to the hospital I noticed a different sign surrounding the parking garages. I got a kick out of them and had to take pictures. Whoever came up with this idea certainly has a sense of humor. I think all hospitals should consider hanging these around.

When we weren't at the hospital, we ate a lot of great bad for you type foods, made gingerbread houses, played games, and watched a lot of holiday shows. I saw some friends, along with my brother and his energetic family, my aunt and uncle. Since I really only see my family about once a year if I'm lucky, it was nice to be home and see how much the kids have grown and changed. Christmas was not exactly the same as in years past, but it was still worth the fight to get there. All too fast the week was over and it was time to say goodbye. It was very hard to leave and I wish I could have stayed longer, but reality doesn't seem to wait for you to join it. It just spins forward leaving you running to catch up.

My mom has just finished her second round of chemo treatment and will be spending the next few weeks recovering in the hospital. Then, fingers crossed, she may get to finally spend a few weeks in her own house, in her own bed, before making the trek to Salt Lake for a bone marrow transplant. She is tough. She's where I get my determination and stubbornness from, and I've no doubt that she'll make it through to the finish line.

The journey home was an adventure in and of itself. Part two will be coming soon . . . .