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Thursday, December 26, 2013
Christmas Post ... it's a bittersweet one this year
“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!
…then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
‘Maybe Christmas’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store…maybe Christmas perhaps…means a little bit more!’” – Dr. Seuss
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by the people they love.
Things have been a bit all over the place here since Sunday night, somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, and have reaffirmed the thought that Christmas really isn't about the tree, the presents or any of the other stuff we worry about or think is important. It's about being with the people you love.
Sunday evening I went from worrying about picking up last minute gifts, what food to get from the store and other mundane things that I thought were important at the time to worrying about much more critical things in the flash of a few minutes and a phone call.
I don't want to get into too much detail on here (message, email, call me if you have any questions) but basically my mom had a severe stroke Sunday night and is now in the hospital. She went through emergency surgery and was in a drug induced coma which she is slowly coming out of now. Sunday night I barely slept, if at all, and since then it's been somewhat of a rollercoaster ride balancing going through every day tasks at work and holiday prep while still keeping my thoughts with my mom and dad in Austria.
I will be flying to Austria January 2nd and will be staying until January 13th. Mike and I are still going to Cape Cod for New Year's since the B&B was pre-booked and there isn't that much I can do in Austria right this second anyway. By the time I get there things will hopefully be a bit more clear and we will have a better idea of where we stand. Flights, while still not cheap on a week's notice, were much less crazy ridiculously expensive after New Year's too. Plus my dad is paying for half. Thank you dad!!
On a more happy note we did have a nice Christmas as much as possible anyway. Mike got me "Mary Poppins" by P.L. Travers (I love the movie but have never read the book) and a Samsung Smart Camera that connects to wi-fi. Very cool. He also seemed happy with the record player I got him. He can finally play his vinyl now. :)
Mail Update: Received a letter/owe a reply to: Kimber/Canada, Celia/MA, Lotte/Denmark, Caroline/Scotland and Charles/TN.
Posted by Hanna at 12:32 PM in Austria , Family, Holidays | Permalink
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Comments
So sorry Hannah. My dad just went into home hospice this week and I know what your going through. A very bittersweet Christmas for certain. I hope your mother pulls through and feels better. My love to you and your family.
Posted by: Kim King | Dec 26, 2013 12:49:52 PM
Oh no! So sorry to hear this news. Glad you are going to be able to get home to Austria though. Will keep you and your family in my thoughts.
Posted by: Celia | Dec 26, 2013 6:36:57 PM