Christmas Eve started out very promising...my brother got in from Chicago without delay (possibly the first time ever!), my parents were here, Alex was home from work, and Nicholas knew that Santa was on his way. I was in my usual position of the last 9 weeks- on the couch- just watching all of the action around me. Alex and Nicholas decided to bake cookies for Santa- which went well until we informed Nicholas that the cookies needed to be baked before you ate them. This prompted a toddler meltdown of epic proportions! But we got things calmed down and managed to enjoy a lovely Christmas Eve dinner before all hell truly broke loose!
15 minutes after finishing dinner I got sick...really sick. The 'I just got hit by a train' kind of sick. Nausea, severe abdominal pain, and lots of other unpleasantness which I'll refrain from describing. I was determined to tough it out b/c it was Christmas Eve but things seemed to only get worse instead of better. By the time I was doubled over in pain and having bloody diarrhea, the family decided it was time to go to the ER. Thankfully Nick was asleep so he didn't know mommy had to go to the hospital...again.
At the hospital things went from bad to worse. In addition to the intestinal distress, I started contracting. And not just sporadically...pretty regularly...occurring about every 5 minutes. So while I prepared to spend Christmas in the hospital- and miss Nicholas opening his presents- they started the IV, took blood, gave meds, and we waited. And waited. And waited. Thankfully as I got my fluids and the meds kicked in the contractions stopped. Then we got our Christmas miracle- they were sending us home!
We got home at 3:30am Christmas morning exhausted and scared. I was still pretty sore and uncomfortable but beyond thrilled that I was going to be able to participate in Christmas morning. Nicholas woke up at 6:15- having no idea of the overnight events- and was ready to experience this thing called Christmas. My heart almost exploded with emotion as my son bypassed a beautifully lit tree with loads of presents both around and underneath it, came up to the couch, threw his arms around me and said 'merry christmas, mommy! i love you!'. At that point, my emotions got the best of me and I cried...and cried...and laughed, covering him with kisses and telling him how much I loved him, too. The rest of the morning went smoothly and experiencing the joy of Christmas through the eyes of an almost 2 year old is truly magic! He was so captivated by every toy he unwrapped that he forgot about the rest of the pile. He had to be gently prodded to put down each new toy after about 10 minutes of playing in order to continue opening presents- or else we may still be unwrapping gifts! The fact that he loved all of it- and didn't even realize, or care, that there was more was unbelievable (and I'm sure not to be repeated for quite some time!)!
By noon, mother nature was in the Christmas spirit and the snow started. And it snowed and snowed- accumulating about 7 inches by the time all was said and done. This led to a post Christmas celebration of snow balls and snow angels! It also meant that my parents were staying for one more day as they were advising people to stay off the roads. (On the down side it meant Alex's mom would be forced to change her travel plans as the east coast was slammed with a blizzard! But the plan is for her to arrive later this week!)
All in all, it was not a wonderful Christmas in the traditional sense. Most people don't plan on illness, trips to the ER, or bedrest. But I've learned that sometimes you have to throw tradition out the window in order to enjoy and appreciate what is- not what you had planned. Never in my life have I so enjoyed watching someone else open presents or play with toys. I've never cried with joy on Christmas morning b/c someone told me they loved me. I had my family here and I was able to watch as my son experienced the wonder of Christmas, and a white Christmas at that! I'm still pregnant, which is all I had asked Santa for...so while it may not have been traditional, it was wonderful all the same!
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