Christmas is Coming!

With the Holidays Season in full swing, so much has been running through my mind. First and foremost, I have been concerned about how I will get all of the shopping done for my loved ones being based in Portland and flying back and forth on full flights, space available. Of course I love to bake and my concern has been how to get that accomplished. Finally, I have been wondering if I could even feel the spirit of Christmas as I am forced to be away from my family and friends during the best time of the year.

Yesterday, I was was working a flight from Portland to San Francisco. Everything was going smoothly and I was looking forward to deadheading back to Portland--which means, I only worked one leg then was a passenger going back. As we were descending into San Francisco, I was securing the galley and putting the beverage cart away. Our galley is super small and the cart is super heavy. I have done this particular thing thousands of times over my career with Delta and now SkyWest...no biggie...until yesterday!

Just as I was pushing it and turning it into its slot, one of the wheels locked up and apparently I was putting my weight into it at the same time. I felt a "pop" in my back on the left side. It was mildly uncomfortable but I thought nothing of it...that is, until I sat in my jump seat (which is NOT comfortable to begin with). All of a sudden this "mild" pain became a sharp, piercing, hot pain shooting down my back into my left hip. Of course we landed and sat on the tarmac for what seemed like hours...it was an unusually long time because we arrived early. As I was facing ALL of my passengers, I maintained a Nothing-Is-Wrong-With-My-Back-Smile...I was dying!!

I spoke with my Chief Flight Attendant who promptly sent me to an on-site clinic at the SFO airport. I waited for my turn (writhing in pain at this point) for what seemed to be an eternity, then was escorted into an exam room that felt more like a 52° meat locker and literally waited 1 hour and 10 minutes to be seen...

The doctor, who looked like an American Geisha Girl with soft, supple girlie hands, pink lips, rosy cheeks and luscious eyelashes looks at my back, has me twist and bend a few times, tells me this kind of an injury is slow to heal and then gives me a bottle of Ibuprofen 600! He tells me no lifting, pushing or pulling for at least 1 week until he can see me again and no flying. As he walks out of our 42 second exam, he says "I'll see you next Friday!" Uh, NOT...I'll follow up with my sweet Dr. Pitts, in Heber City, Utah thank you very much...

So I'm home. At least until next Friday and more than likely longer than that. I am SO FRUSTRATED!! Argh...!!

This means an OJI (on the job injury) with NO pay to my already minuscule paycheck. Great timing, right before Christmas...on the upside, I will more than likely be home for Christmas Eve/Day, but I was scheduled to be home on the 26th-28th as it was, so not a huge deal.

I will probably be home for the remainder of the Christmas holiday. My back is better this morning but Dr. Geisha Girl said it will flare up and to stop what I'm doing when this happens and lay down immediately.

On another note: A few Random things...

I am doing well with the passing of my daddy, but I have had a few days where I become completely teary at anything and everything. Days where I miss him more than I ever could have imagined and just long for him to take his poor little gnarly hand in mine, look me in the eyes with his cock-eyed baby blues and tell me how wonderful I am...because that's how he was! I miss the sound of his voice, his cute southern expressions and his oh-so-wise counsel. I just want to hear his voice one more time! You can never tell someone you love that you love them enough! He died with the absolute assurance that we all loved and adored him. Nothing more could have been said. It's like I told my mother, you can say "good-by" over and over but eventually, someone has to "hang up the phone". That's how it was for us with my dad. How blessed we all are to have had such an amazing father and patriarch of our home! His legacy of love and leadership will live on and I will forever be thankful and can never thank my Heavenly Father enough for sending me such great parents...

Another random event: My daughter is a single mother. She lives 4 houses away from me and raises 3 perfectly beautiful *little* ones as a single mother who is putting herself through school full-time. She struggles with her health and struggles with making ends meet. The other day she called to tell me that she had spent the morning so worried about how to get through the month (financially) with Christmas coming. She had agonized over how to pay certain bills and where to find money to buy groceries. She was totally stressed. She went outside to get her mail. About an hour later, she saw the mail lady stop by again and felt concern that maybe she was getting served or something. So she tentatively went out to her mailbox, picked up another stack of mail and went inside. She opened a few Christmas cards, had a few advertising fliers and saw one more envelope with no return address, only a postmark from our local town. The handwriting was not familiar but was pretty like a woman had written it. She opened it...inside was a cashiers check made out to her for...$500.00!!

She was so shocked, that she immediately took it over to my hubs to make sure that it was a real check! He assured her that it was. She was/is completely humbled and touched that someone would be so generous and kind to a struggling single mother with 3 precious little ones during the season of giving! As she was relaying this story to me, tears filled my eyes. What a sweet gesture that changed her month completely! Her biggest thing was that she was driving herself crazy with who could have possibly done this. She felt like she HAD to know or she would go nuts. I gently reprimanded her and told her to be gracious in her acceptance of this "manna from an angel/s". To do them honor by using the money wisely and share her thankful heart by passing it forward...not by giving $500.00, but by living her life as the Savior would want her to. By serving others and loving everyone. By helping out however she can.

It really doesn't matter the size of the check. In this case it was phenomenal, but the thought that someone gave generously of their substance to someone in need is touching and captures the real spirit of Christmas. I pray that the person/s responsible will know how grateful we all are at their selfless expressions of care, concern and love for a poor single mother with little mouths to feed. God Bless Them!

And Finally...
My neighbor called my hubs last Thursday evening as he was getting ready to attend a dinner for our local Boosters committee (we're both on the committee). She was panicked as her husband  (who was recovering from a recent hip surgery) was ill and hallucinating. Brad immediately dropped everything, ran over and helped get him to the hospital. Then he stayed into the late hours of the night just to be there to help with whatever needed to be done. His gift of time was every bit as valuable as any check and his willingness to give up a nice evening with dear friends, was evidence of who he is as a man and a great neighbor. I love him so much and am so thankful that he is the generous man that he is.

There is so much to be thankful for. My back is not in the best of shape, but this too shall pass. I have a head cold on top of my back, but that is temporary and I'm already beginning to feel a bit better. Christmas is here! It's not just on the 24th and 25th. It's right now! It's the sharing of not only gifts, but of love and care and concern and unselfish gestures.

 I pray that all of you have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate. I hope that your hearts are open to not only the giving but to the receiving of gifts. May God bless you all...