Christmas Eve 2008

“Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse”; starts that famous Christmas fable and yes, today is the day before Christmas 2008. I cannot help but to think back to the past two Christmases and thinking that all I needed to do was to just get through the day and I would be that much closer to my family. Now I can’t help but to think that I want this day the day before Christmas to last as long as possible. Of course each day no matter how special always contains 24 hours and the older I get the faster these days get. It is clearly up to me to make the best of the time being given not only on these special days but also every day.

Today started out just like most weekdays as I made my way to the gym for my morning workout. I got in a great workout completing 9 miles faster than I have ever. This was my high intensity day and the calf problems of two weeks ago have dissipated; however; it appears my other calf feels left out and at the end of the run I noticed some tenderness which is something that does happen. I will treat this just like the other calf with some rest, ice, compression and the various muscle creams I have in the medicine cabinet.

Unlike two weeks ago the discomfort only appeared at the very end of the run and I had no problem with the super high intense workout. I am excited at the prospect of running the Phoenix Rock n’ Roll marathon next week and I am getting a little pressure from my daughter who really wants to go to Boston!! This does require me to cover the 26.2 miles in less than 3 hours and 20 minutes and one of the last things I want to do is to disappoint my daughter.

There was very little work to tend to on this Christmas Eve day but I did accomplish something while I was at the grocery store with my son. While I was on the phone tending to this call my son was with me and we were looking for marshmallows which is not an easy task at a health food store. The next thing I know my son is following one of the store employees to where the marshmallows are located. Yes, he took it upon himself to ask the employee where the marshmallows were located. I was amazed because I doubt very much I would have taken this initiative when I was 7 years old!! One thing I have noticed about my son is he is not shy at all which I find to be a positive quality since he does seem to know when to be reserve and when not to be. Clearly today he was not going to be reserved as he ventured out and found the marshmallows with assistance.

Prior to the grocery store my son and I received haircuts. Where were the last two customers as the barber shop was about to close and we had two different people cut our hair. I could overhear my son explain to the person who cut his hair how he wanted his haircut and I could hear them carry on a very nice conversation. I continue to be amazed how much this “little guy” has grown up in the past few years. It is truly remarkable and certainly brings a smile to my face.

With our errands completed we made our way home in order to get ready for church. Yes, since it is Christmas Eve we were going to attend mass prior to dinner. Of course; our departure time was a few minutes later than projected which had us standing during the very crowded mass. I remember in the past standing during these masses and being very irritated at just about everyone. However; this was not the case today as I traded off resting my hands on my daughter’s and son’s shoulders. I did not mind being at mass because I was with my family and I even took part in the communion procession for the first time in a very long time. I won’t go into the particulars of this ritual because I really don’t know those particulars!!! I do know that the priest stated everyone received absolution (or something like that!) in order to participate in the communion ritual.

The mass ended and we were headed over to our dear friends’ house for Christmas Eve dinner. These are the same dear friends we shared Thanksgiving dinner with last month. These are the same dear friends who have been there ever step of the way over the past few years and I couldn’t think of a better place to spend Christmas Eve dinner. The dinner was very nice and the children seemed a bit obsessed with tracking Santa Claus on the computer. This was a very ingenious site created by none other than NORAD the Defense System. The children watched the progress of Santa in real time as he circumnavigated the globe. I know my son is a firm believer in Santa Claus but I suspect my 10 year old daughter has her doubts. We were told that her friend who is the same age knows that mom and dad are Santa but there haven’t been any confirmations from our daughter as of yet.

Yes, the dinner and the company were wonderful in every way possible. This was a far cry from last year wanting the day to disappear and certainly two years ago when I wanted the day to fast forward into infinity!! The blessings in my life are enormous and were evident this evening all around. My life is wonderful and yes, I am eternally grateful for the wonderful Plan.