Wat! The holidays are over, WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, we survived another Christmas! In the last 5 or 10 years, every Christmas has been so extraordinarily different from the one before it, I never know what to expect, or, who we!ll be with. This year was no different. My mom and I were together at her home, where I grew up in Midcoast Maine. When I arrived, I declared. That even though it was just the two of us, were still doing stockings. For some reason, the whole experience of having a ridiculous goody bag to open before you sit down to breakfast, is something that I genuine,y love. After breakfast of almond torte and other assorted goodies, we ambled over to the tree in the window, and open-end many assorted goodies, from friends and family. I knew I wouldn't have a lot to open, as I'd asked my family o help me purchase a plane ticket toColorado, so I could do some adaptive snow boarding with a friend, I met last year at Sugarbush in VT, and ran into this summer in Winter Park, CO at the No ?barriers Summit, my.Ant brought me to over the summer. She invited me to visit, so now, I'm trying to make it happen!

After our little family Christmas, my mom and I headed over to the neighbors family camp, for their family Christmas gathering. I wasn't prepared to attend another Christmas, and felt slightly guilty when I received gifts, but hadn't brought any. The company was gift enough for us, as it was so much fun reminiscing about old times, and getting the latest news on the family members who couldn't be there. We all enjoyed a fabulous Christmas dinner of ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, squash, and the BEST chocolate creme pie Ve ever tasted. I love chocolate, but normally, the Che chocolate creme pie is nothing to write home about. But, this one was exquisite, very rich, and somehow light. I admit, if it had been my families dinner table,I might have challenged them all for the entire confection.
After Christmas, there were still so many things to be done, people to seen, etc. I accompanied my mom to a couple doctors or medical appointments, and have been so proud of her for sticking with the people and programs she feels will help her, because having your life examined by multiple people, for several reasons is no easy task. And then, somehow processing that information to decide a plan of action you feel comfortable with, is no easy task. The new family joke, I've been informed, is that apparently, my mom, my aunt and I will all be able to have walker wars. My mom asked me to bring my wailer home for her to use, but it was deemed unsalvageable by her therapists. I assumed that might be the case, given, what I put it through every day, for over a year. I dare say, I could probably write a book about the adventure I somehow created for myself with that thing. Then, I could do a sequel about the baby less jogger. Wouldn't that be a fun read? Well, if nothing else, interesting...
I'm am so happy to see my mom putting in the necessary time and effort into her rehab. As mindless, depressing, and frustrating as it is, it makes all the difference in leading a happy fulfilling life down the road, because you know that you've given your best effort, and you are, where you are that day because you put the time in, and did the work. That aspect of being home was incredibly rewarding.