A Little Christmas Surprise

Last week I was speaking with The Spouse about Christmas. For the last several years, our Christmases have been rather depressing. What with The Spouse’s illness that made Christmases of 2012 and 2013 awful, then having to spend the holiday at his mother’s dark, decrepit small town and home since we aren’t bringing her to our house (she can’t handle it any more), Christmas has been dreary. I have just wanted to get through the end of December and move on to the next year. (Photo here, though, of me in years past.)

Last year was about the worst. I was…

…very depressed by the embarrassing outcome of the U.S. election for President and by placing the world’s biggest narcissist and liar-in-chief in office. I just did not have anything to celebrate. So last year, we did not put up a tree or decorate. We spent a long week at the mother-in-law’s watching endless Hallmark movies that we recorded and passed the time slowly… oh too slowly.

This year, I remarked just how much not having a tree hurt my feelings and made me sad. We will have to be away again on Christmas this year at the darkest, most depressing location, caring for the saddest woman in the world. But I was emotionally divided… I just couldn’t “avoid Christmas” again this year.

While I was out on the Harley running errands on Sunday, The Spouse and two of my angels (senior pals) took action. Sr. Pal #1 drove to our house, picked up The Spouse, went to a local crafts store, and purchased a small pre-lit artificial tree. Sr. Pal #2 had unpacked my family heirloom ornaments, knowing somehow which ones were most precious to me.

They put up the tree and decorated it. When I arrived home, there it was, with three Santa’s Helpers smiling at me.

I teared up. There was my Mom’s very old little blue bell; her self-made snowflake; the Spouse’s Ziggy ornaments; my Dad’s old ornaments that he brought home from Italy.