December

December!

It didn't feel like we were closing in on Christmas, since November was quite warm. But it finally feels like winter, and we even had a little snow yesterday morning. We have some Christmas decorations up, including the lovely stockings my mother made for our entire family.

It has been a busy couple of weeks, and the rest of the month will be busy too.

Lydia is going to physical therapy 2ce a week, which means 2 afternoons a week we are gone at least 3 hours.  That is quite a strain on my schedule but I am SO thankful for many things. First, we were able to get surgery for her finger by a gifted surgeon. Second, we could pay for it.  Third, we have access to, and can pay for, and have insurance to help with, many rounds of physical therapy. Fourth, Naomi is very competent and can watch everyone else while Lydia and I are gone.  I try to schedule PT for when Rose is napping and the kids are playing computer games but still...how many teen girls have to (and can) watch a horde of little siblings?  Both Naomi and Lydia are very responsible and good with the littles.

Lydia's finger is improving, but she needs to focus hard on PT.  The surgeon says she'll get almost all improvement in the 4 to 6 weeks post surgery, and then she'll be stuck with whatever impairment is left.

We have 2 Christmas parties related to work in the next week.  There is also something happening at work late next week which may involve more time than usual on my part.  And Kevin has a business trip (a short one) coming up in the next month.

And then there are 3 birthdays, and Christmas, at the end of December.

So yeah, it is busy.  I am trying to stay calm. I am trying hard, very hard, to have proper perspective. I am a "project oriented" person, so I get stressed when I cannot get stuff "done" in a timely manner.

But then, life has a way of smacking me sometimes, and reminding me of what is really important. I have a sweet, godly friend who is a young widow (under age 40) with 3 precious children.  She lost her husband almost a year ago, very unexpected. And last week, her younger brother, who was only in his early 30's, died suddenly.

So within a year, she has lost 2 precious people.  She is of course REELING from the loss of her husband. This Christmas season was going to be devastating enough as she and her children grieved the anniversary of losing her husband. And now she has a whole fresh load of intense grief over her brother.

I think of that, and I think of Job, and I think of my messy bathrooms, and I realize how ridiculously uptight I get about stuff that really does not matter.