1225 Christmas Day

Christmas morning. Ah, yes, I remember waking as a kid and racing to the front room to open my presents. Nowadays, it’s just another day.

So after my morning routine and some breakfast, I settled in and started going through the gifts from my friends.

A lot of them gave me chocolate. Now, it’s not a restricted food, but something my doctor says I should eat “in moderation”. But somehow my mother thinks that I’ll die if I eat chocolate, so she usually confiscates any that crosses my path. Not surprisingly, she’s a chocoholic, so most of it finds its way to her “stash”.

I’ve since learned to be more creative in hiding it, but the large influx from this morning may make it difficult, as I’m quickly running out of hiding spaces. Fortunately, she doesn’t read this blog, so she won’t find out about my concealment activities, unless you say something to her.

The only one that will be difficult to consume surreptitiously will be the hot cocoa mix that I got from Liz. I’m still working on a plan for that one, but will probably need to involve my father, who’s always boiling water for tea. Hmmm.

Les gave me a full-color calendar with her favorite photos adorning each month. I hoped that there were no photos of me, but there were. Imagine a group shot in front of a waterfall with 23 people, but only one with a “snow-covered roof”. There was also the one from Halloween with me in costume with the rabbit ears. I can just picture those of you who received the same gift, flipping through the calendar now. Fortunately for me, not everyone who reads this blog will have access to the calendar.

I received a stack of CDs and DVDs, which will give me hours and hours of listening and viewing pleasure. I got a bunch of other stuff, but not enough time to go through it here.

I hope that you received everything you wanted this year. I know that I did. Gifts aside, I received the love of friends and family, who have kept in touch with me during my recovery from the stroke, through their personal visits, phone calls, handwritten notes, e-mails and e-cards. Without them, I surely would have been lost. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas everyone!!