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Christmas Eve…

This time of year with short days and long nights, coupled with the emotional highs and lows of the holiday season is usually difficult for us and maybe most people. This year, of course, that has been magnified for us. Its been a tough two weeks since my last post.
I have been in quite a bit of pain from the surgery on my leg, but have been slowly getting better. I got back to work and ditched the crutches after just a couple days. But I won’t be skiing for awhile (and yes, it’s my fault that the snow gods have stopped the snow here again like last winter because they don’t want me to suffer hearing friend’s powder stories). Walking and climbing stairs is painful, but it’s a pain I can handle because I know its going to fade. But the pain in my heart is another matter…
The 2nd round of chemo hit Sandy harder than the first. It really wiped her out and she had some days of nausea after the five day round ended. But she still feels fortunate that she isn’t on a typical chemo drug that really makes you feel deathly ill (though sometimes she wishes she did feel sicker from it so she would feel like the drug is doing something to stop the tumor). So that added on to the emotion of having our son home from college - we haven’t seen him in a year - has made for some tough days recently. Besides my own worries about Sandy, it truly breaks my heart to see her having to deal with all this. It isn’t right that cancer has been inflicted on one of the sweetest and most compassionate and loving women to walk the face of this earth.
But everyday we try to count our blessings - and they are many. I like to think that they are even more numerous than all the winter birds at our feeder out in the snow-covered yard - including the prophetic Mourning Dove I saw there today. Counting birds and blessings… that is what keeps us going through this season of long nights.

So here’s to shorter nights and longer days… We wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season and Best Wishes for a Wonderful New Year.