Christmas and Aftermath
Christmas Eve was lovely - fun and good food at Pattie and Gary's. I saw my nephews and their ladies - gave out gifts and received gifts.
The Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian Church was inspiring. They lighted a cauldron at the beginning of the service (that touched me deeply). There were readings from the Christmas story in the New Testament, singing of carols and harpischord music. At the end of the service, cauldron was extinguished and a minister said, "Blessed Be." I felt that my belief system was part of the service.
I was up early on Christmas morning - cinnamon buns were made and I had two with coffee. Oh, well - it's a holiday. I was showered, dressed and ready to go to Easton Nursing Center by 8:45. I was there by 9 but there was only one Activity aide there (two had called off sick)- and he wasn't quite ready for me. So I went to WaWa and bought pastries for each nurses station at Easton and Praxis. By the time I was finished handing them out to each unit, it was time to hand out presents to the ENC residents. There were a lot of presents - at least one for each resident in the building. There were wrapped gifts for many residents - gifts bought by the staff for residents who may not have families or residents whose families are distant - in miles or caring.
I spent almost 3 hours passing out presents - until my back started to tell me to stop. I'm still paying for that time with back pain (more on that later), but it was worth it to see how happy the residents were and how surprised they were - surprised to be getting gifts on Christmas.
For my afternoon entertainment I went to see "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events." Run, do not walk, to see this movie. The artistry is remarkable; the story dark and brooding (hey - it's Lemony Snicket!); the acting superb. Jim Carrey is a master of many characters. I looooooooooved "Count Olaf." And I got to see one of my favorite people, Billy Connally.
The day was rounded off by the cats and I having a Christmas dinner of scallop scampi.
All in all - not a bad holiday. Just a different one.
Now if I could just get rid of the back pain. . .
The Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian Church was inspiring. They lighted a cauldron at the beginning of the service (that touched me deeply). There were readings from the Christmas story in the New Testament, singing of carols and harpischord music. At the end of the service, cauldron was extinguished and a minister said, "Blessed Be." I felt that my belief system was part of the service.
I was up early on Christmas morning - cinnamon buns were made and I had two with coffee. Oh, well - it's a holiday. I was showered, dressed and ready to go to Easton Nursing Center by 8:45. I was there by 9 but there was only one Activity aide there (two had called off sick)- and he wasn't quite ready for me. So I went to WaWa and bought pastries for each nurses station at Easton and Praxis. By the time I was finished handing them out to each unit, it was time to hand out presents to the ENC residents. There were a lot of presents - at least one for each resident in the building. There were wrapped gifts for many residents - gifts bought by the staff for residents who may not have families or residents whose families are distant - in miles or caring.
I spent almost 3 hours passing out presents - until my back started to tell me to stop. I'm still paying for that time with back pain (more on that later), but it was worth it to see how happy the residents were and how surprised they were - surprised to be getting gifts on Christmas.
For my afternoon entertainment I went to see "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events." Run, do not walk, to see this movie. The artistry is remarkable; the story dark and brooding (hey - it's Lemony Snicket!); the acting superb. Jim Carrey is a master of many characters. I looooooooooved "Count Olaf." And I got to see one of my favorite people, Billy Connally.
The day was rounded off by the cats and I having a Christmas dinner of scallop scampi.
All in all - not a bad holiday. Just a different one.
Now if I could just get rid of the back pain. . .
posted by Mitzi at Monday, December 27, 2004
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