Christmas to Remember

It was almost Christmas Eve, and my Joya was sick.  Not the runny nose, little sniffle kind of sick, but the stomach-churning, let's-not-talk-about-it kind of sick.  She curled up on the couch in another attempt to find a position that was soothing so she could sleep, but sleep would not come.  "Momma," she whimpered, "it's almost Christmas.  I don't want to be sick on Christmas!"

So many hopes and dreams children have for Christmas!  So much planning and anticipation! How I wanted to take away her hurt, to assure her that she would be all better in time for Christmas, but I could not.  I could only promise that whatever happened, however she felt, we would all do our best to make the day special.

I knew that spending this Christmas far from family and friends would be difficult,  so I tried to make up for it by making sure we had all we needed to do Christmas just like we would in the States.  I grabbed onto the traditions we had made for Christmas, simple as they are, and expected those traditions to give meaning to our holiday.

A dear, wise friend advised me to make this a Christmas to remember...to not fear the things that would be different this year, but to celebrate them.   As I pondered what we would do to make this a memorable Christmas, having a child who was sick didn't fit into my plans.

Christmas came and went, and I know now that this will be a Christmas I remember for a long time.  Memories of sitting by my sweet girl on the couch, trying to comfort her.  Memories of singing to her at night, to help her sleep.  Memories of staying home, reading and watching movies together, with no particular agenda.  Not exactly the way I had planned to spend Christmas, but precious just the same.