The "Christmas Spirit. Do You Have It?", edition.

 iPad turned the radio on and is playing Vince  Guaraldi Trio, "Christmas Time is Here". You may know it from The Charlie Brown Christmas. :-).  I spent just a moment getting back to my list.  Steve Miller, "Abracadabra".  Do you have Christmas spirit?  It changes over time.  Like when I was a kid. I was that kid that could barely contain herself starting right around my birthday.  I was that kid that could not sleep in Christmas Eve. At all.  In an effort to separate my birthday from Christmas, Mom wouldn't do anything Christmasy until after my brthday. I get it and appreciate it, but by Decemember 17 the whole Christmas bombardment was well underway.  As I got older, the magic was...different. I enjoyed spending it with family. Mom hosted the Chistmas dinner. While clearing out the house to move we found photos of several Christmas dinners. At least 15 people every time. And not always the same people. I found photos with my cousins' grandparents. The youngest cousin didn't remember them. Or photos of old boyfriends. Lol. Most of the people  are gone and missed.  And others are scattered across the country. 

Jamiroquai, " Virtual Insanity"   When we had Shawn, it began a grandparent fest. She was the first grandchild of my generation. So when I say grandparent fest, that included the great aunts and uncles. Lol. She'd always have some red fluffy dress and red ribbons in her hair. Oh, by the way, Mom and Dad moved to Las Vegas a few days after after Shawn's first Christmas. Remember, Shawn's birthday is December 12.  Anyway. They'd return to town every Christmas until the year Mom ended up with pneumonia. Now it was our turn to go to Las Vegas for Christmas.  

The Isley Brothers, "Hello It's Me".  Mom arranged for us to have a baby sitter in Las Vegas. That allowed us to run errands. Shawn visited Father Christmas at the castle (The Excaliber). Shawn saw Santa as a necessary evil. All of photos with Santa she's sporting a fake smile. Lol. Father Christmas, in his gold lame' gown was no different. She had to endure in order to go give Santa her wish list. Lol.  Mom would have the gigantic Christmas dinners in Vegas for friends. Sometime Brian's mom and sister would join us. 

 Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody".  We'd try to get out there every Christmas, but sometimes we just couldn't. We'd celebrate with Brian's family. I'd make a small dinner for us. Mom would still try to fix massive dinners, but it wear her out. I told Dad to take her out. There were plenty of Christmas dinner options in Las Vegas. She finally agreed.  The year she fell, 2011, we decided to not go to Las Vegas for Christmas because dad was having the hip replacement surgery right after January 1 and they both want me and Brian to help with recovery. Oh yeah.  She fell and was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve, their 57th wedding anniversary. 

Michael a Jackson, "I Can't Help It".  Christmas 2012 was pretty brutal. I had just started dialysis and was recovery from kidney failure. Mom was in a nursing home and she was dying. She was not expected to live past 6 weeks. I couldn't get there. Dad bought a dinner from Blueberry Hill and ate Christmas dinner with mom. I sent a small Christmas tree. By this time she wasn't able to talk.  But I did talk to her. <3. 

Aretha Franklin, "I Say a Little Prayer For You". Last year Brian, Shawn and I came out for Christmas with Dad. We had a nice time just being with each other. This is when I resolved that we would make that move by the next Christmas.  And here we are. This year we are having a happy and festive holiday!  I've decorated the condo. Not overboard, but some nice touches. We plugged in a holiday smelling air  freshener. It smells like apple pie.  Lol. We don't have a large tree. Storage issues.  The iPad shuffled to Pharrell, "Happy".  :-D  We have a 1 foot tall tree sitting on a speaker and behind it are all the gifts. :-)  And we placed a 1 foot green metal tree with bells for ornaments on the table. 

The music will start today. Shawn had to finish a paper, so we gave her the space and stayed out of her way. She submitted the paper last night. Now it's time to celebrate!!  Isn't that something?  Back in our day we didn't leave campus until the assignment was complete and had to hand deliver a hard copy (typed) to the professors office.  She worked on it while waiting for the plane in O'Hare and on the plane and pushed a button to send it back to Champaign, Illinois. I'd say we all have entered the Christmas spirit zone!!

James Brown, "Get Up Offa That Thing".  My shopping is completed. The cooking starts today. I bought Christmas gifts for my dialysis tech and both of nurses. We're having 4 people over for dinner for a total of 8 people!!  Dad is smiling and enjoying his self. We're making this celebration of life, family and friends. We're starting yet a new tradition. And we all are loving it!!

Signing out with  Al Green, "Look What You've Done For Me".  Nothing special on the dialysis front. I've manage my labs and fluids so I can enjoy the holidays. I'm looking at visitors to the center getting dialysis. Yelling lady isn't here. I won't be back until Friday. The dialysis marathon is over.  Have a wonderful holiday!  I'll be back on December 26, 2014. And for those who want snow, I hope you get it. Gonna be in the high 60s where I'm at and I'm loving every minute of it!!!