Christmas this year is like a hurricane eye. It’s a spot of calm in the middle of chaos.

Don and I went to mass last night. We’ve been away a while, partially because of the knee surgeries and partially because of covid. And after that, inertia. It occurred to me that Christmas Eve is the time for what we wait for. The time things longed for finally arrive. Christ is Emmanuel, evident. Our waiting for the time of salvation is at hand. It’s here now.

I think what we’re really waiting for in some way, is the light to come back and the darkness to lift.

Tomorrow I get my stent. It’s the first of several procedures, Later they’ll fix my wonky valve and aneurysm. We’ve waiting for this for a while, through the medical procedural channels, which do grind slowly. With all good luck, they’ll send me home by evening, with the blockage resolved. One bomb out of three. Hey, the odds get better as we go along.

So after all that waiting, salvation is at hand. And I am past grateful to be offered a life longer than my parents, with options they never had.

I hope the people and things you wait for are there for you, at the right time where you can find them, I hope you find joy in the unexpected places as well as the ones we normally rely on. I hope you find answers and help that get you through the dark.  I hope you make things that astonish you. I hope you have all the love to hold you in the light. Most importantly, I hope we all get the holy sacred happy nappy this afternoon.

Bless you all through your holidays! Say a prayer or think a good thought if you can..

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