I didn’t sleep well Christmas Eve. I was too hot, even after I moved to the guest room which is downright chilly. I tossed and turned and finally got up around 9:00. I made breakfast…warmed up a biscuit, fried up some of that ham we got on special at Aldi’s, and some scrambled eggs. That ham was the saltiest I’ve ever tasted. I checked the wrapper to see if it was a cured ham that needed soaked and it was not. But I knew as soon as I ate it, I would regret it.
It’s never fun to feel sick. It’s especially not fun to feel sick on Christmas Day. To top it off, I had two phone calls that made me sad…family health issues. I changed back into my jammies and went back to bed and slept till 5:00! I woke up feeling a bit better but still had a headache.
We watched a football game and I started knitting Christmas Stocking #5. I still haven’t added up how many I need to make so who knows? I’ll probably be knitting them till Thanksgiving next year! I finally reached my brother last evening. He’d been trying to call me all day but was having technical difficulties with his new phone. I hope it works out ok.
When I headed to the back of the house to write this, I told Mr. FixIt that it’s a darned good thing he is self-sufficient and I don’t need to babysit or entertain him all the time. That was one thing that was possibly going to become cumbersome in my relationship with Mr. Virgo. He told me at the outset that if I was one of those women who had to take off and travel without him, he wasn’t interested. I agreed to those terms because that’s actually what I was looking forward to after having been married to a doctor who was gone a lot.
It turned out that he didn’t just want me to be home with him. Mr. Virgo wanted me to sit on the couch beside him and watch the same shows so we could discuss them during the commercials. He didn’t want me to work on the computer or play on my phone or hang out in the bathtub for an hour for a little space. We weren’t together long enough to know if this was going to be a big problem, but I have a feeling it could have become one.
That’s why I’m so thrilled that Mr. FixIt and I have our life together AND we have our separate interests and our OWN lives. I think it’s much healthier for the long haul. Granted, the pandemic certainly curtailed our separate adventures the last three years, but we’ve found ways to have our own space.
The weather is still frigid here in West Virginia, but the temps are on their way up. I believe we are expected to be above freezing by Tuesday and by the weekend we’ll hit 60°!!! I’ll take it! It should be fun for the FixIt Family Festivities on Friday. Maybe we’ll have a bonfire and roast marshmallows. We even have some fireworks we could set off to celebrate an early New Year! I know Chili and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are on the menu and that’s always yummy!
I hope you were able to celebrate in whatever way you do…or don’t. My day turned out to be the gift of restoration. The bottom line is to always do what’s right for you…especially if you are grieving or alone. Sending lots of love and light to you on this Boxing Day!
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“For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help. Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience. What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other. So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture: “As I live and breathe,” God says, “every knee will bow before me; Every tongue will tell the honest truth that I and only I am God.” So mind your own business. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.”
Romans 14:2-12 MSG