"Christmastime is comin', Christmastime is comin', and I know I'm goin' home." So the song goes, but, this year's version may well be changed to 'and I know I'm stayin' home'. It's Thursday, December 3, 2020, and we all find ourselves trying to figure out what things will be like come Christmas Day. As you can see in the photo above, we are ready to host our annual gathering of our family clan. It may not happen, but, we are working towards that time and will adjust as necessary to keep everyone as safe as we know how. You might recall I mentioned yesterday some about the delivery of the vaccine. I read a report last evening that indicated there will not be enough dosages to cover all the healthcare first-line workers until some time in late January. Common sense tells us exactly what I forecasted, while it is an amazing thing to have a vaccine, it will be some time before it is readily available to the general public. Since that appears to be the most likely scenario, we have to be realistic about our plans for Christmas Day. I'm still praying for a breakthrough that will change what looks like, for now, a pretty dismal outlook. This past Monday I had all of this on my mind and a story popped up on my phone. It was one of those cautionary tales about an older couple, (him 79, and her 78), who got sick and tired of being sick and tired of being cooped up and isolated, so, they made the joint decision they would give up the isolation and if they got COVID, then so be it. One of the things they did right away was to visit one of their favorite eateries. They were so happy to see everyone. Hardly anyone there were wearing facial coverings. They ended up going from table to table telling everyone hello. Within days they came down with the virus and ended up in the hospital. After several weeks of treatment, they both passed away. They were in a room together and just before the wife died she leaned up and told her husband, "Time to go." The children reported the parents did have messages for their peers and other family members. Essentially, they wanted everyone to know just how painful it was to deal with this disease and that it was not a good way to go. Interesting, that I would read that article the day I was thinking much about our plans for Christmas Day.
I suppose if nothing else 2020 has taught us all the plight of Chicago Cubs fans who pretty much own the saying, "There's always next year." Here are some funnies supposedly captured to help change the frowns on our faces. Let's hope it works. ~ Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the chicken behind it didn’t know how to socially distance properly. ~ Two grandmothers were bragging about their precious darlings. One of them says to the other, “Mine are so good at social distancing, they won’t even call me.” ~ Who’s idea was it to sing “Happy Birthday” while washing your hands? Now every time I go to the bathroom, my kids expect me to walk out with a cake. ~ My husband purchased a world map and then gave me a dart and said, “Throw this and wherever it lands—that’s where I’m taking you when this pandemic ends.” Turns out, we’re spending two weeks behind the fridge. ~ My mom always told me I wouldn’t accomplish anything by lying in bed all day. But look at me now, ma! I’m saving the world! ~ After years of wanting to thoroughly clean my house but lacking the time, this week I discovered that wasn’t the reason. ~ If I keep stress-eating at this level, the buttons on my shirt will start socially distancing from each other. ~ Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom. ~ Yesterday I ran out of soap and body wash and all I could find was dish detergent. Then it Dawned on me. ~ Being quarantined with a talkative child is like having an insane parrot glued to your shoulder. ~ I never thought the comment “I wouldn’t touch them with a six-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are! ~ The World Health Organization announced that dogs cannot contract COVID-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out. ~ Since we’re all in quarantine I guess we’ll be making only inside jokes from now on. ~ I’m not talking to myself, I’m having a parent-teacher conference. ~ Lifted from the fatherly.com website.
I thought some of them to be smile-worthy but not necessarily the proverbial laugh out loud. I watched a tremendous sermon from Pastor Rick Warren on why joy is so elusive to so many, and even more so during the holidays. He used the Christmas account of the birth of Jesus to illustrate points about losing one's joy. It is worth looking up on YouTube. When we think about it, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Joseph, the earthly father figure of Jesus, could have easily thrown in the towel with all that came to them as a result of being chosen to be the parents of the Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world. At any rate, it was a good reminder that true joy is only found in yielding to that one born to a virgin, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I do hope you have yourself a most remarkable day and that we all will be reminded of what Christmas truly means. Amen. ........More later.
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