Simple Joys of Christmas - Stockings

I will share more of my experience at Mayo next week. 

It is finally time to enjoy and celebrate Christmas!

   Due to our schedule and my inability to drive prior to or following surgery, there was little time or chance for much shopping, decorating or preparing.

That is fine.

Great joy is found in simple things.

Many are items that have long been a part of our family's holidays.

It is never Christmas for me until the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

This stocking was knitted, for his first Christmas, by our son's godmother.

In this house, it always hangs by the family room fireplace.

Mother made these stockings for herself and my father.  They are red velvet with white satin lining and cuffs, decorated with felt cut-outs, and embellished with sequins and beads.

The one on the left was Daddy's, complete with a tiny train on the toe!

These also hang on the family room fireplace.

As our family grew with son-in-laws and grandchildren, my mother gifted us with beautiful needlepointed stockings.  A dear friend drew most of the designs, and Mother spent many hours stitching.  They are stitched primarily with wool, and accented with metallic threads.

Each stocking is fully lined with satin, backed and piped in velvet - completely and lovingly handmade.

Every year, as I unwrap these three stockings, it is a little bittersweet.  They will always be one of my favorite holiday decorations, but they make me miss my mother more than ever.  She adored the holidays, and kept Christmas in her heart all year long.

Our three stockings hang together on our living room fireplace.

So, are your stockings hung?

I hope Santa leaves you lots of goodies and no lumps of coal!

 

Blessing of a Silent Night

In the hustle and the bustle, the hurry and the scurry, may you also find the time to remember and celebrate the true reason for this season.

As you read this, my husband and I will be returning home from Rochester.

The gift I received this year is more priceless than any found under a tree or in a stocking.

It was found in the hands of a skilled surgeon, the prayers of friends known and unknown, and through the grace of a great God.

Update from Rochester

Courtyard of Gonda Building at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN

We slipped and slid into Rochester on icy roads last night.

Temperatures are frigid!

We are now very good at winding our way through subways and skywalks, without ever setting foot outside.

Piles of snow are everywhere.  The photograph above, taken in a fairly well protected area, does not begin to depict the abundance of  frozen white stuff!

I flew through my pre-op labs and tests.

Surgery is scheduled for 10 am tomorrow.  The operation will take three to four hours.  Four muscles on each eye will be surgically repositioned, in hopes of lessening my current double vision.  Additional adjustments to the muscles will be made over the next few days, to obtain optimum success with this surgery.

I have great faith in my surgeon and his team, but realize this is truly in the hands of someone even greater.

In the meantime, I am in a winter wonderland during the season of  magic, hope and joy!

Your prayers and messages have touched my heart.

I am truly blessed, and thank each of you.

I will see you here again, soon!

Blessings

                                                                      Needlepoint nativity set I stitched in 1992.

Little Jesus of the Crib,

Give us the virtues of those who surround you.

Make us philosophical as the fisherman,

Carefree as the drummer,

Merry in exploring the world as the troubadour,

Eager for work as the bugler,

Patient as the spinner,

Kind as the ass,

Strong as the ox which keeps you warm.

Give us the sacred leisure of the hunter.

Give us also the desire of the shepherd for earthly things,

The pride of the trade of the knife grinder and the weaver,

The song of the miller.

Grant us the knowledge of the Magi,

The cheerfulness of the pigeon,

The impulsiveness of the cock,

The discretion of the snail,

The meekness of the lamb.

Give us the goodness of bread,

The tenderness of the wild boar,

The salt of the haddock,

The good humor of old wine,

The ardor of the candle,

The purity of the star.

~The Prayer of the Children of Provence~

I am so touched by the outpouring of prayers and encouragement regarding my upcoming surgery.
My husband and I are currently in Kansas City.  Interstates and airports in Minnesota are closed due to a winter storm.  We are hopeful that conditions will improve, and we will arrive safely and timely for my surgery on Tuesday.

In the meantime, if you see a reindeer with a shiny red nose and magic sleigh, please send them our way!

Yes, Jan, there is a Santa Claus

My Santa is not quite as chubby as this one.

His hair is dark brown, instead of white.

There is no beard.

His wears a white coat, instead of red trimmed with fur.

It is not quite as cold as the North Pole, where he lives . . .

but almost.

My Santa, complete with elves, is at the Mayo Clinic.  He is determined to see my Christmas wish come true.

A call was received yesterday.

It was confirmed today.

I will meet with the surgeon, anesthesiologist and other members of the team on Monday.

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14.

The doctor feels this needs to be done now, rather than later.

There may be no tree or decorations at our home this holiday.

There may be no shopping for presents.

There will be a gift, perhaps even a miracle.

To say I am scared, is an understatement.

I am not nearly as brave and calm as some might believe.

I have placed my life, my eyes and my hope in the hands of numerous doctors during the last 18 months.  There have been complications and disappointments.  It is sometimes difficult to trust again.

It would also be difficult to never see clearly again.

We are packing the bags and heading back to Rochester! 

Actually, I never quite got around to unpacking!

Return from Rochester

Thank you so much for all the prayers and positive thoughts during our recent journey to Rochester, Minnesota.  We managed to travel both directions safely, and missed most of the snow and bad weather.   It began snowing as we headed back home.  For a couple of hours, we drove through a white winter wonderland.   I now have a new appreciation for the word "cold".  Temperatures were usually between 10 and 20 degrees.  If I ever again complain about cold temperatures in my part of the country, my friends to the north are more than welcome to stuff their mittens and mufflers in my mouth!

Actually, the people in Rochester are quite smart.  The majority of hotels, shops, restaurants and Mayo Clinic buildings are linked by a series of underground tunnels and skywalks.  You really do not need to venture out into the cold much at all.

We were able to dine at the same restaurant where my husband often dined, as a child, with his mother and a beloved aunt.  The restaurant, Michaels, is still owned and operated by the same family 50 years later.  His favorite entree of roasted duck with wild rice is still served.  Our meal was delicious, and the waitress kind enough to listen to my husband's trip down memory lane.  Bless her heart!

We also took a quick detour to Janesville, to catch a quick glimpse of his grandparents' home.  The building which once housed his grandfather's Chevrolet dealership and repair service is still standing, although greatly modified and serving a different purpose.  The grocery store and Dairy Queen, where many nickles and dimes were spent on treats, are still in business.

We also walked down hallways at the Mayo Clinic where his mother and father once might have walked.

It is somehow reassuring to know that some things never change.

The ophthamologist, with whom we met, described my case of thyroid eye disease as one of the most severe and complex he has seen.  Treatment options that might be advantageous to others, will not benefit me.

The best that can be offered is a series of surgeries that will lessen, but not completely reverse the double vision.  He believes the amount of time that I am currently able to align my eyes for normal vision will continue to decrease.  Each day, I seem to notice more deterioriation. 

His surgery schedule is currently filled for the next three months.  So, we have time to continue researching, thinking and making decisions.  Should openings in the surgery schedule become available, we will be notified.  Truthfully, at this time, I am not too eager to agree to additional surgeries.

The journey to Mayo Clinic did make one thing clear.

The halls are filled with thousands of people, all searching for their own medical miracle.

While our individual battles may seem insurmountable to each of us, many are fighting wars that may never be won.  They would gladly trade places with me.

The holidays are a time of hope and miracles.

I continue to cling to that promise.

I also continue to pray for grace to accept and make the best of my situation --

what it is now, and what it may become.

Blessings

In a world that seems not only to be changing, but even to be dissolving,

there are some tens of millions of us who want Christmas to be the same

with the same old greeting "Merry Christmas" and no other.

We long for the abiding love among men of good will which the season brings . . .

believing in this ancient miracle of Christmas with its softening,

sweetening influence to tug at our heart strings once again.

We want to hold on to the old customs and traditions because they strengthen our family ties,

bind us to our friends,

make us one with all mankind for whom the Child was born,

and bring us back again to the God who gave His only begotten Son,

That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

So we will not "spend" Christmas . . .

nor "observe" Christmas.

We will "keep" Christmas --

keep it as it is . . .

in all the loveliness of its ancient traditions.

May we keep it in our hearts,

that we may be kept in its hope.

~PeterMarshall (1902-1949)~