All I Want For Christmas

Lately I have been fully living the running around like a chicken with its head cut off. And it's not because of things I am being forced to do, but things I am forcing myself to do. Man, I need to talk to myself about this little issue cuz it is wearing me out!

This week has been dedicated to running ALL of my lab work. That's right, all of it. I'm trying to do in 1 week what most people do in a month or two. Not because it can't be done in one week but because nobody wants to do as much lab work in one time period as I have been doing. And to top things off, machines aren't cooperating which is putting me behind schedule.

Behind schedule for what you might ask. Going home. All I Want For Christmas is to go home. I am emotionally worn-out from being so far away from all of those I love. The boy. My sisters. My mom. My friends in Wyo. Oh yea, and of course, being away from my babies.

Tuesday is D-Day. It's my last final (and by last I mean ONLY final of the semester...and LAST final EVER!) and I want to jump in my truck and hammer down right after it is over. I will not waste one minute.

If that means I have to run samples over the weekend and finish up Christmas presents at the same time then so be it.

Other than my emotional needs I am racing home to help out my Mama. She's had a rough year...and that's saying something because I feel like the 10 years since my Dad died have been rocky as a whole. She broke her femur in February, then her hip in October. And when she broke her hip, she popped the plate holding the femur together out of place as well. To the point that it is pretty darn close to poking a hole in the skin and exposing the insides of her leg to the world. Making you cringe? Yea me too. But she is having surgery next Friday to hopefully fix the problem. And I want to be home to help her in any way I can.

It seems like the Christmas season is a bumpy one for our family. We lost my Dad 4 days before Christmas. Mom spent most of one year in and out of the hospital fighting an infection that almost killed her. One Christmas both Mom and I were on crutches (I had broken my leg, she had knee troubles that ended up causing the infection). I dealt with kidney stones last season and this season Mom will be in the hospital until a couple of days before Christmas. And these are only the events that stick in my mind.

In no way shape or form are we as badly off as many other families. We have always had each other's backs and have always had food, clothing, and a roof over our head but man is this time of year hard. It's taken me until just a year or two ago to rekindle my love of the holidays. Too many years of bad happenings will do that to a body.

So maybe I will change my holiday wishes and say that All I Want For Christmas is to go home...and for Mom's leg to finally be fixed.

Nothing like bad situations to give you some perspective. So if you ever wonder why I am so passionate about helping people who are down, it's because I've been there. Am there. And we have always had a helping hand.

So in the spirit of this wonderful time of year, I hope you help someone in any way you can. Whether it is donating gifts, food, money, time, or offering a kind word and a support system, it doesn't matter. Sometimes when all bets are off, any help is better than none at all. And you never know, you might just help someone fulfill their Christmas wish.


*Sorry for the semi-depressing post! This has been on my mind a lot lately. In the spirit of cheering up, I think I want to move to Canada...because WestJet airlines pulled an awesome holiday surprise off. I don't care if it was to promote a good image...it was fabulous. Check it out!*