More Christmas Days Stretching
Christmas Day 10: Christmas Day ten includes an unexpected gift. It is like the present you ask for but don’t receive on the day. The late surprise makes it more welcome and wipes away earlier disappointment.
Another Bell technician shows up unannounced. As I race out of the house early morning so as not to miss the weekly compost collection–I hate the idea of food rotting in a plastic container in my garage–the fellow sits curbside in his truck. He gets out just as I toss the offending bag into the green-bin.
“Looking for me?” I ask.
Sure enough, he is here to install the telephone jack the two mystery technicians from earlier hadn’t attended to (refer: Twelve Days of Christmas to Stretch).
But it’s not that simple. No surprise, just more chaos. I expect nothing usual about this installation but the day offers a subtler gift, one I don’t know I need.
A month ago when the Bell order was placed my husband was not expected at home during the day through Christmas and New Year’s. But here he is. His presence turns into the most precious gift I receive.
The Bell technician wears an anxious look as he moves through the rooms in our house. The telephone wire must come through a hole drilled at the front; my home office is at the back. The deep crease that furrows his brow has me on edge. We have just completed renovations. Ugly wires running the length and breadth of our house is no part of my redecorating vision. My husband isn’t keen either. But the many production challenges met during four months of renovation chaos had rooted in him an evolving creative energy.
“How about you run the line along the outside of the house instead?” He suggests to the Bell technician.
“There’s a hole drilled through the office wall for a satellite connection we no longer use.”
The crease in the technician’s forehead diminishes as he considers the possibility.
With my husband’s guidance the technician deepens the hole as he drills through dry wall and a new baseboard. A small sacrifice compared to our house looking all year round strung up for Christmas.
Outside is beastly cold. The technician sips coffee as he installs the inside jack and we three chat. Again getting the job of the day done feels companionable, human and not like work and not like the grind so often experienced in today’s business environments.
The days of Christmas and the grace of the Christ child continue to be far-reaching and I am grateful for unexpected gifts.
Christmas Day 11: A half-day of self care–exercise and then a tub-soak for stressed and aching muscles. Christmas preparations interrupt regular exercise and rebuilding a routine comes with a price.
But each day of Christmas is a rebuilding exercise allowing twelve daily pauses in three hundred and sixty-five to put back together disjointed lives.
As with our family room renovation we reconstruct by adding a decorating item. A modern area rug splashes vibrant colour against the neutral tones of an oatmeal coloured couch and the soft beige hues of freshly painted walls. Piece by piece we create a new space in which to live.
The mess and confusion of past months settle, the stress eased by twelve days of Christmas grace.
Christmas Day 12: The last day of Christmas launches a full work day and back to juggling myriad responsibilities.
Am I ready to meet the New Year’s challenges? Somewhat, but I am tired as I write this last post. With an eight a.m. start I am not finished twelve hours later but having received God’s healing gifts of grace throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas I am better prepared.
What did you receive during the Twelve Days of Christmas?