Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you.
Though (or because!) she doesn't work at the facility, Gisela has been of unbelievable assistance to my mother, whose stroke necessitated the move to assisted living. Mom was unhappy about the move and is often confused due to the stroke. Gisela has often consoled her and guided her. My mother was always the strong one, so my otherwise alert father seems almost oblivious to her weakened condition. Gisela gives her the love and support that she wouldn't otherwise get in their institutional environment.
We included Gisela in our little Christmas celebration and took her out for what seems to be the favorite dinner of Canadian seniors: fish and chips. My parents also gave her a gift certificate for taxi service, as Gisela's biggest regret is having given up her car and driver's license.
Monday morning I got up early and headed for the airport in the Canadian darkness. On the way I listened to a CBC radio "expert" advise Canadians on how to maintain harmony around the Christmas dinner table, even if someone brought up Donald Trump. (Trump lives rent-free in the mind of every Canadian.)
Now I'm back in Arizona. While I was away, my astrophysicist son returned from California for the holidays. He's recovering from the flu, so coughs regularly. About the time he returned, my wife came down with a bad cold, and then they ended up taking one of our five cats to the emergency veterinary clinic for what turned out to be a kidney problem. Fortunately, in the AZLIberty recovery ward, everyone is now getting better.
Despite her cold, Mrs. AZLiberty has been busy in the kitchen with the cornbread, the turkey, and what's known in her family as "cranberry glop" -- a kind of cranberry trifle with marshmallows, mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, and whipped cream. When it's served, we top it with chopped toasted pecans. Due to her illness, I was responsible for the early preparation last night. Of course I didn't do it quite right, but it will probably turn out OK anyway.
A year ago, Mrs. AZ brought her mother and brother from Amarillo to Arizona. Her brother suffered a head injury 35 years ago, soon after joining the Air Force, and has been living with their mother all that time. Now 86 and 55, they were unable to maintain their house in Amarillo, and they now live in an apartment near us. They will be joining us for Christmas dinner.
After dinner we will probably drive down to Oro Valley (a Tucson suburb) for a third Christmas, to visit daughter and son-in-law, who have just bought a new house with a beautiful mountain view. They were hoping to host Christmas themselves, but it's just too soon, especially since they're trying to clear out their old apartment by the end of the month. We'll bring them Christmas dinner and spend a short time with them before leaving them to their work. We offered help, but they want to "avoid outside entanglements" on such a delicate task.
The children have been out of the house for a while and we have always lived far away from relatives. But now that we're close to retirement -- and our parents are really old -- it seems that family is become a bigger and bigger part of our lives. Daughter is planning grandchildren, so we're considering moving down their way, bringing the in-laws along. We may get one of those new home-within-a-home houses having a built-in guest suite but separate entrances. Due to health insurance issues, my parents are probably going to have to stay in Canada, but otherwise we would consider bringing them into the picture as well.
What a glorious time of the year! Merry Christmas!