I Just Had to Tell You This .... Sound Familiar?

By Alexandra1214 Thursday, January 21, 2010

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Ok ... just gonna bite the bullet and confess ... I had a crappy Christmas ... well, actually, according to the way I was before RA showed up, when my house was perfectly decorated, my outdoor decorations looked like Longwood Gardens Christmas Display ..... and I had to whole family over for Christmas, Turkey dinner and all ...

Now ... it was like a comedy sketch ... with My RA and my hubby's bum knee and bad back ... neither one of us went to the storage unit to get one of our 5 artifical Christmas trees ... plus decorations ... we actually sat and calculated just how much it was going to hurt ... going out in the cold and decorating the front yard ... so putting electric candles in the windows and changing the colors of the bulbs was all I could muster up ... although on Christmas Day Steven (hubby) did go out and plug in a few of those electric deer .... which then promptly fell over at the first wind and then looked like they had been shot ...

I had to pick up my medications on Christmas Eve ... so at the same time there was a little 3' pre-lit Christmas Tree that didn't weigh much and was half price ... it came home with me ... and without any assistance from hubby, turned into our Christmas tree this year ....

My sister was having Christmas Dinner at her house the day after Christmas so we did something I NEVER thought we would do ... We pre-ordered an entire Turkey dinner ... all we had to do was pick it up ... pop it in the over to warm it up ... and VOILA .. Christmas was on!!

I thank God for the internet ... otherwise there wouldn't have been any Christmas Presents for anyone .... and there is something to the way my old odd Aunt used to do when she never wrapped any Christmas Presents ... but just pulled up the paper bag and put a bow on the presents ... saves time and energy .... lolol

I look around at my house .... that prior to when my RA hit ... would have been BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas ... and now .... one pathetic little 3' Christmas Tree from the Pharmacy and a pre-cooked turkey dinner ... electric candles in the windows .... a few fallen electric deer on the front lawn .... That's my new life ... living with RA and Christmas!!!

How did you all get along for the holidays ....

???

JoZ

Does This Ever Happen To You??

Comments (7) | Add comment

Ish

1/21/10 3:41pm

Hi,

Okay, so I will also confess to having a quiet and undecorated Christmas. Like you sad, calculating the "cost" of getting the tree/decorations/etc. down was enough to make me just forget about it.

I also did most of my shopping online. Pretty much the only store I frequented was the drug store. I'm sure everyone here can identify with the horror of having the people in the pharmacy know you by name! Oy!

But, as this was my first Christmas with RA, I'm hopeful that the next one will contain a lot more energy and a LOT less inflammation!!

I loved the part of your story where the electric deer blew over and looked like they'd been shot!! Too funny!!

Ish

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

1/22/10 1:09pm

Sometimes, when I get all caught up in what I can't do around the holidays (and this year, there was quite a bit), I remind myself of what the Grinch said: "Christmas doesn't come from a store". we put so much pressure on ourselves to make everything "perfect" that we forget that Christmas is about being together with the people we love, about laughing and sharing and eating and it sounds like you had that.

Still, I loved the part about the deer.

Alexandra1214

1/22/10 1:20pm

you are correct ... Christmas is not about all the trimmings and such ... and not being able to stand up to my prior hyper-standards, well that's what happens when we get older ... and with RA .. it just shows up earlier ... We actually had a good day ... just the two of us ... the doggies ... wonderfull Christmas programs on the TV and radio ... no pressure ... It is just me ... trying desperately not to feel like a failure .. that I didn't do my typical 110% ... sigh ...

Happy New Year!!

JoZ

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

1/22/10 1:32pm

Sometimes, the trick to not feel like a failure is to have a healthy sense of the ridiculous and I think you're ahead there. Still, it's hard to switch tracks into the slower lane. Sorry you had to.

Alexandra1214

1/22/10 1:45pm

Now I have to battle with myself ... that even though I wake up every morning with a list a mile long ... of everything I am going to get done .... and at the end of the day ... I am lucky if I check off two things done .... It is Ok ... and that I am not a failure .....

*smiles*

JoZ

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

1/25/10 11:57am

I battle that list every week myself. And then I remind myself to set attainable goals - it really does work. When I remember to do it.

Sally

1/23/10 11:04pm

I wound up in the hospital for more than two weeks before Christmas because I couldn't walk or keep my balance, and I was finally discharged on the 23rd. Fortunately I had already decorated the house and gotten my shopping done, but I missed out on the Christmas parties and all the anticipation before the holiday with my kids. My husband and sons spent the holiday in Michigan with his family, while I spent it at home in Chicago with my mom and my walker. (It was the first Christmas in 20 years that my husband and I were apart.)

Life just throws curve balls at us all the time, and it seems that those of us with RA seem to get quite a few of them. We just need to take them in stride and try to roll with the changes. Even though I didn't get to spend Christmas with my husband, he brought back another walker, cane, and shower chair for me that have been invaluable over the last few weeks. My mom and I got to enjoy a quiet Christmas together, complete with delicious deep dish Chicago-style pizza. I think that it's all about making the best of what we have to work with.

I Just Had to Tell You This .... Sound Familiar?

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