December, 2009

As you can see, I'm waaaay behind on my blogging.  So here goes December:  It began with work, work, work, as I tried to finish getting all my shifts in before retiring...What, you say!  Yes, I'm retiring!!!  After much comtemplation, I decided this was the time to do it.  Exact date was originally the first weekend in December, but later I felt it would be better to continue to work til the middle of the month, to make paychecks through the end of the year, and have my pension start in January.  So on December 15th, I worked my last shift on OB with my co-workers of 28 yrs. with a pizza party to celebrate it.  Earl happened to be working too as a patient sitter, so we got to go home together that night.  Of course, it was emotional, and despite my efforts, the tears flowed freely as I walked to my locker for the last time.

Two days later, my hospital retirement party was scheduled, and all  the hospital personnel came to wish me good luck, along with snacking on Special K bars, coffee, and punch.  Charlene Adams, and Carolyn Fiskness, two special friends, who had already retired, came to help serve, along with Wendy and Jan, our unit managers.  I received many wonderful gifts, hugs, and good wishes, laughs, and tears. My husband, Earl, my daughter Lorrie, and grandson Sawyer were able to be there, too.  Of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without some incident occuring...Sawyer ran off, and we had the whole hospital looking for him.  Happily, he was found upstairs, running around without a care in the world.  Unfortunately, many of the staff couldn't be down to see me, as OB was very hectic @ the time.  My favorite gift was a quilt that Carolyn made with prints of nurses on it...it was beautiful.  As I was packing everything up, I noticed a Norwood Pine tree, decorated with tiny Christmas balls, sitting on the table with the gifts.  I left it there, thinking it was just a table decoration provided by the hospital.  The next day I got a call from the hospital, asking me when I would be picking up that pine tree.  I guess it was a gift given to me, but by whom???

   The following day it was major house-cleaning, as we were hosting Christmas, and all the children and grandchildren would be here, except for my daughter Julie from Maryland.  I also had to make plans for our theme of an Irish Christmas, and decide on food, and customs, with the help of my daughters, and get last minute gifts, and baking done.  The following Wednesday, Earl and I drove to the cities to pick up our son, Adam, his wife Maja, and their little daughter, Luci.  It was wonderful to see them, and have them stay with us for a week.  Luci was such a delight, and such a little talker, once she warmed up to us.  We all went to Christmas Eve Mass, as I was singing in the choir, and afterwards, showed Luci the nativity set behind the altar.  We had lasagna for dinner, then tried to get Luci to sleep.  We had borrowed a port-a-crib from my friend, Ruth, who out of the goodness of her heart, had driven to her office to pick it up.  At first Luci wanted to sleep in it, then, she cried to sleep in the big boy's bed, which is the bottom bunk bed in the bedroom, but finally she settled down in the crib.  Adam and Maja then got busy wrapping up her gifts, while I got ready for Christmas the next day. 

So begins Christmas Day: