If everything has gone as planned, our son arrived in Montreal a couple of hours ago. He texted us as he was on his way to the train early this morning. Even in that short text his excitement was palpable. haha We are so happy he can spend his Christmas in Montreal and avoid the freeze up here that he has had to face almost every year since he left for the west coast nearly 15 years ago now. I wish WE were in Montreal...or Vancouver....or Tahiti....or anywhere else that doesn't have prairie winter weather to contend with. Blecch!! Pooey!
Actually today was not that bad. We had small flakes of snow blowing around in the air most of the day, not much of it accummulating on the ground. A higher wind this afternoon combined with thicker flakes made for a short lived blizzard that was rather pretty to look at. I went out a couple of times to run some errands, so got at least a bit of fresh air. Sunday evening is when the very cold temperatures are set to arrive. I can still count the number of nights I have had to plug the car in so far this winter on 5 fingers, but all that will change by Christmas Eve.
I had far more energy today than I've had after the nose bashing and food poisoning incidents, so when I realized my husband was not going to come home until several hours after the office closed for the holidays, I cleaned the upstairs rooms and washed up the bedding and towels our guest used last night. Housework is a wonderful way to fight off boredom!! Also it will make life less exhausting tomorrow with only the downstairs to clean.
My husband had quite a collection of Christmas gifts and cards from the other office staff to bring home this evening so he called me for a ride. After supper we sat around our wee tree and I watched him open his gifts. I had a private chuckle because for someone so scathing about Christmas gift giving, (mostly because he despises shopping), he was quite delighted to receive his presents from the other staff. Despite trying to hide his excitement he was glowing over all the gifts so obviously well chosen and well thought out as to be appropriate for him. He has a difficult time accepting being loved by other people, but I think his co-workers have "got his number" this year. There were assortments of teas and wines, a lovely new tea pot and tea cozy to replace the one he is currently using in the office...the teapot and lid he has been using are sadly mismatched after an accident destroyed their proper partners. I suspect that gift came from the Bishop because the look of that mismatched set in the office would drive him crazy! hahaha There was a book of Scriptures all pertaining to peace of mind, along with a huge tea mug with the word "peace" stencilled on it. There was a deck of playing cards with the Saskatchewan Roughriders logo on it, a tease from a couple of fans because he could care less really about the local obsession with football. There were a couple of lovely Christmas tree ormanents as well, obviously chosen with his present work difficulties in mind and those made him smile. Merry Christmas dearie!
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We have a seminary friend who went through absolute hell in his first parish right out of grad school. It was so bad in fact that he has not been in ministry for the past several years after his church ended up in a disaster that he was not able to prevent. As is often the case, he walked innocently into someone else's battle ground and ended up as the main walking wounded. Eventually he and his wife moved away to another province all together to be closer to family. After a long absence from any church attendance at all, certainly an absence from ministry, they have settled into a marvellous church in their community....a most welcoming church with a pastor who understands what our friends have been through. He is a wise and discerning man who realized rather quickly our friend is a gifted minister, but needs some re-entry time. So a few weeks ago that pastor asked our friend to preach....just preach...just one sermon. For the first time in a couple of years our friend was able to speak the message of Christ to a congregation. We have been blessed by receiving a copy of that sermon and have listened to it with great joy and excitement. He is indeed a preacher! His godly heart and his love of Christ and his desire to share scriptural truths is so evident, just in that one sermon. Watching the horrible struggles he experienced for so long and seeing how God is gently leading him back into his calling, letting him take his time so his own healing can continue, but making sure he is in a place where it is safe to heal and to take some steps back toward possible ministry, is giving us such hope that if we find ourselves in a sorry state for employment/retirement over the next couple of years, God will not abandon us either but will let us roll with the punches for awhile as he prepares us for whatever will come next.
Lots of good things to think about!
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My nose has finally stopped bleeding after that whapping by the venetian blind the other day. So very glad the damage seems limited to that, certainly nothing was broken. The swelling is going down and the pain is reduced to only the initial point of impact. YAY!!
Have a happy weekend everyone as you make your last minute Christmas plans.
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