That Most Wonderful Time of Year

The last few weeks have been a blur. This has been my busy season at work and at times seems like one long day.  I had been taking the dog to daycare until two weeks ago when he suddenly came down with a stomach / bacterial infection. There was a $700 Sunday morning trip to the Med Vet ER followed by a week of antibiotics and having to take Sumter to my work to prevent him from infecting other dogs.

Best Behavior

I'm not sure if it was because my contact with Colin was minimal, or that he was aware of how much stress I was under between taking care of the puppy and being busy at work or simply that my son was just in a better mood but the hateful messages of puppy wanting to kill us or telling me to go kill myself was at a minimum and barely noticeable.

Saturday, I took Colin and his middle-brother to a JV swim meet. Colin continues to shave seconds off of his times. I had a chance to observe from a distance. He seems to get along with his team and is enthusiastic when cheering other swimmers on.

After the meet I mentioned taking Sumter to the dog park and was pleasantly surprised that Colin said that he wanted to come with us. Even more impressive was my son mentioning that he would like some ties for Christmas. He has a few but wanted more for school.

I was encouraged that he seemed interested in putting up the tree and asked his middle-brother what we did last year. My 16 year-old had a fuzzy memory and could not quite remember.

I'd like to forget how hollow the past year's holidays seemed with all the stress and drama of our estrangement.

Christmas Day

Today was miraculously normal.We waited until everyone was awake to open presents. Colin's big gift was a new smart phone, companion tablet, and accessories.  He also received several ties, and some dress clothes of which he seemed grateful for. There was Christmas cash from family and a trivia game for a future family game night.

Colin took several pictures of Sumter with his new dog toys before settling in to play with his new technology.

Later we all watched a Christmas special ( How Murray Saved Christmas) and then celebrated eldest's 18th birthday with some ice cream cake.

As bedtime nears and I reflect on the day, I am filled with gratitude. I am grateful that we have achieved a peaceful, normal day. This was something I've dreamed of for a year now and the very best gift I received today.

I don't know what the future holds but I will savor today.

We continue to be a work-in-progress!