Fun Monday

For Fun Monday, Sayre asks us to write about:

What was the most touching, wonderful part of Christmas for you this year?

AND What was the craziest, stupidest, funniest part this year?

OK. I need to warn people. This is not going to be a real happy Fun Monday post. When I signed up....well, I was hoping....but some things were just not meant to be.

To try to be up-beat: the stupidist thing? Our family Christmas eve game. You know, some families have traditional games. Things like opening a single present (or all the presents), going down memory lane, etc..... Mine doesn't. My father has been ill, and Christmas eve, the blood pressure cuff came out to make certain that he wasn't hypotensive as he was complaining of being dizzy. His vitals were fine. We were all in the formal living room, trying to make small talk....and then the game started: who has the lowest blood pressure? The blood pressure cuff traveled around the room. My niece and I tied, both with blood pressures near 100/55. And then, the competition began. I have always been able to lower my pressure some by relaxing....with a few tries (and going WAY into zen mode) I got my pressure down to 88/55. The eighteen year old won the game with a drop to 85/50. Yes, she was still mentating. I guess we could have included the rest of the family by trying to see who could lower their pressure the most from a basal level....still, kind of stupid, eh? Sitting around trying to get the lowest blood pressure reading without passing out.

Unfortunately, it doesn't go up from there.

I will not add up how much money I spent at emergency vets. However, he veterinarian community of Baton Rouge owes me. Big time. Merry Christmas guys and gals! You really deserve it (wonder if I can get my vet to give me a large bottle of activated charcoal to take along on my next vacation....).

The most touching thing is bitter sweet. As people who have been reading this blog may know, my father has metastatic lung cancer. He has walked his joureny for over 29 months....we are truly blessed having beaten the median by a good many months. Most of those months have been quality months.

Last week, my father became acutely confused, requiring hospitalization. The feared brain metastases did not materialize, but neither did an explanation for the confusion. He was sent home on Tuesday, still confused. When I traveled to my parent's, I was hoping that the delerium would left as rapidly as it came, but that was not meant to be. Having Christmas with my family was truly a blessing this year, yet it was also sad -- my father was there, but not there in the way that I have always known him. The puppies seemed to ground him, and I was glad that I could give him that joy. I hate that he seems to be aware of his confused state, yet unable to "pop" out of it. The mind is a mysterious and wonderous thing.