Part 174 Holiday cheer and lessons from dogs


The next few days are filled with holiday arts activities, with the kids and I going to a Christmas movie followed by Becah taking them the next day to the Nutcracker ballet. After that our family attends a live nativity re-creation at a nearby church. Impressive, with a real camel too. You can even ride it! Of course, there is a long line to ride it and it is cold outside, so we entice the kids into going inside for other activities.

The next day is winter-like, very cold, and perfect for maintaining a holiday mood. I listen to Christmas music and George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” CD while driving between home and work and elsewhere. Work is very busy, but manageable. Mom calls and informs me that her tumor is gone, but she will still require more chemo and radiation for isolated cells that remain in her body. She is happy, though, because the doctor said no bladder surgery. She will start the additional treatments soon.

I continue to read “Year of the Flood”, an interesting futuristic novel by the always entertaining novelist Margaret Atwood. The cold streak has settled in for a few days, so one afternoon I make vegetable soup. I struggle peeling and cutting vegetables, forcing myself to remain slow down and be calm when I drop things due to my hand. Brett the dog teaches me another lesson when he escapes from our back yard after someone left the gate ajar. I enlist a neighbor to help corral him (he finally dodges us both and runs back into the yard). There are apparently times when problems arise and suddenly, inexplicably, correct themselves.

I am soon back inside, out of the cold, relaxing to a John Rutter Christmas CD. The soup is on, the dog is lying on the floor, and the moment is good.