Merry Christmas everyone! The day is almost over. All the anticipation of the season has come to a climax and is nearly over. It’s after 10pm and my family is all home, the boys are in bed for the night and my wife will be soon too. The last 48 hours were not really what any of us had anticipated for our Christmas this year. But I can say that tonight is a Pretty Good Night indeed.
Thursday evening I got my things in order for Friday morning milk delivery. The boys were in bed and my wife and I had a bit of coffee before I headed to bed around 10:00. She was reading “How to have a New Kid by Friday” by Dr. Kevin Leman. We’re trying to work on our parenting skills. I went to sleep, she continued to read. Around 11:30pm she got sick in her stomach and started vomiting.
I got up at 1:00am, kissed Karen good bye, and left the house around 1:30 for the Christmas Eve milk delivery. i had 28 stops scheduled for the morning and most folks had ordered extra items for Christmas. It was a great morning, I always enjoy driving around different neighborhoods in the early morning hours and this morning was no exception. Some folks had cookies in their milk box for me, or Christmas cards, one lady got up early and waited for me to arrive. We had only ever spoken on the phone and she wanted to hand deliver her Christmas cookies to me and meet me. (Thanks again for the cookies Heidi!) One kind family had a gift bag for me on their doorstep, there was a children’s book for each of our two boys. (Thanks Andrea, we had to read the books before they could eat breakfast).
It was a great morning. My last stop before heading home was the post office. As I left the post office I got a call from Karen wondering how my morning was going and when I might be home. It was 8:00 and the boys were up and she was feeling quite ill. I arrived home and the boys and I hung out for the day. Karen continued vomiting every hour or two, had a migraine and dizziness. We’ve heard that the “bug” has been going around and assumed that is what she had.
I really needed a nap but the boys weren’t able to sleep, so we kept on keepin’ on. I love my boys, but I guess I’m not cut out to do the “mom” thing. It was a long day.
I got the boys to bed by 7:00 and Karen was not improving. This is getting to be a really long list of events. Long story short.
Karen’s mother came to stay with the boys around 9:30pm and we headed to the ER. Christmas Eve in the ER may be one of the better nights of the year to visit the ER if there is such a thing.
Six hours in the ER seemed to do the trick. She was given an IV to rehydrate her, and treated for her nauseousness and headache. We walked out of there around 2:30 Christmas morning. She was feeling much better. When the boys woke up in the morning, Grandma took them to her place and we slept in.
Karen is feeling much better, we spent the evening with her parents and siblings. Had a meal together, sang some Christmas songs, and of course opened gifts.
Life is good. My wife is feeling much better. My boys are healthy. It’s been a good Christmas. One we will never forget. It’s a Pretty Good Night indeed! And that, my friend, is our Christmas Story. I guess the original Christmas Story may have seemed less than ideal too, but it had a good ending.
I hope you all can say the same, regardless of you circumstances.
Merry Christmas and God Bless