To Be Made Out of Shipwrecks [Christmas Day]

As my children woke up one by one and greeted Christmas morning with varying amounts of excitement and joy, I lay in bed drifting in and out of agonized sleep trying to rouse myself for the morning's festivities. Christmas morning brought waves of pain and nausea as I struggled through unwrapping gifts and eating enough breakfast so that I could take my medications. My throbbing head and excruciating back and neck pain only worsened when I attempted to shower. Lurching from the shower to be sick from the pain, I managed to then get myself dressed and took a second round of medication in hopes that it would help. 

My husband and children already having showered, packed gifts and food, and loaded the van, I was helped out the door. As my husband drove, I felt fairly certain I would end up in an emergency room once again and prayed I could make it through Christmas dinner and gift opening with my parents and best friend. 

Arriving at my parents' house, I took refuge on their couch, barely able to pay attention to my surroundings or communicate through the pain. I nibbled some shrimp and took yet another dose of prednisone. Ice on my neck, laying back in a recliner, I attempted a couple bites of lasagna before giving up to simply rest while my family ate in the dining room. Bits of conversation wafted into my conscousness, but no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't do anything other than lay there in pain. 

The steroids, ice, rest, and reclined position eventually conspired to provide enough relief that I could get myself to a chair in the living room to participate in the opening of gifts, nibble a bit of dessert, and attempt conversations.

Festivities done, we returned home, where I collapsed into bed, the pain once again increasing from being upright for so long. My amazing husband brought me lasagna, a heating pad, and water in which to soak my feet as I ate...a wonderful end to a difficult day. 

Nevertheless, when I look back on this Christmas, it's not the pain that will be forefront in my memory. It will be the love and care provided by my family and best friend, the smiles on my children's faces when they opened their gifts, and the thought and work that was put into the beautiful gift my husband gave me. 

I still believe in saviorsBecause we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single boardWashed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shoresSo come on and let’s wash each otherWith tears of joy and tears of griefAnd fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beachCome on and sew us togetherJust some tattered rags stained foreverWe only have what we remember
~from Wooden Heart by Listener