Overwhelmed

I arrived home from work on Friday night, the eve of Christmas Eve, feeling far from in the Christmas spirit.  For obvious reasons it has been difficult for me to muster up a festive mood this year.  My commute to and from work on some days is my only chance to relax, listen to music (adult, not Ellie's), and think.  Most of the time a portion of the drive is spent crying.

When Owen was diagnosed and we returned home from the hospital, Ellie caught me crying one day.  She immediately started to cry and from then on I have done everything in my power to not cry or act sad in front of her.  So, that leaves me my commute to and from work to cry in the privacy of my car without bothering anyone.  Sound depressing and honestly, it is. On Friday, my gloomy mood quickly disappeared when I walked through my front door.

The elves were busy at my house on that afternoon while I was at work.  I arrived home to hear that Santa had just stopped by to meet Owen and have a picture taken together.  The back story to Santa's special visit is that Owen slept through their first meeting, which had happened the previous Saturday.  Bernie, who runs the daycare which Ellie attends, holds an annual party for all of the kids and their families.  Every year, Santa marks it on his calendar and shows up to have pictures taken and give out a few gifts.  Ellie was willing to give Santa a hearty high-five, but Owen was sound asleep. If you have learned anything from this blog then you know we were not going to wake him up, even for Santa. I commented in passing that I was disappointed that we did not get a picture of Owen sitting in Santa's lap, and like magic, a week later Santa appeared on our doorstep.  Bernie must have his direct number to orchestrate such a wonderful surprise so close to Christmas.  Here is Owen's very special picture:

Hearing this story started to lift me from the down mood I was in, but there was more joy to come.  One entire section of my kitchen counter was covered in gifts.  There was a gift basket from friends in one of Ellie's playgroups, cookies galore from neighbors and members of our church, an enormous dish of homemade lasagna, and gifts for Owen, Ellie, and me from many special people in our lives.  It really made me pause and think about how fortunate our family is.

Owen's illness is sad.  There just is not a positive spin to put on what has happened to him during his very short time with our family.  But, through this journey, we have been overwhelmed with offers of support, meals, guidance, and love.  We are truly grateful.  Our Christmas was a happy one where lots of wonderful memories were made. I hope everyone else was touched this weekend by a little bit of joy as well.