It was a year yesterday that I came home from the hospital with heart failure, leaving behind my three little packages in the UAMS NICU.
Last Friday I wondered if I was going to have another illness invade my Christmas. That little stomach virus making its way around our nursery insinuated itself into Momma, who spent Friday from 3 a.m. – 7 a.m. nauseated and trying to placate a restless baby. Finally, at 7 a.m. when a volunteer showed up to help my husband, I ran to the bathroom–and stayed there for most of the morning.
Too bad because I had quite a day planned Friday. Daddy had gotten home from D.C., so we could have a little family time over the weekend. With the help of my siblings and husband, I was going to take the babies and Big Boy to grandma’s Christmas party at her nursing care facility. It started at 1 p.m. What a great outing for the babies and for grandma! But there was no way. I was greener than the Grinch. And you can’t very well take a virus into a place where elderly folks have lowered immunity anyway.
For the same evening I had planned a sitter so that we could spend some special time taking Big Boy to see Disney’s new “The Princess and the Frog.” But there was no way I could go. Daddy made the sacrifice and took Big Boy by himself.
Saturday I was better, but not 100%. I was now officially behind on stocking stuffers and wrapping and my Christmas cards were not addressed. Yet, I decided I could carry through with our plan to take Big Boy to see the Children’s Theater’s “Merry Christmas, Mouse.” But as for Daddy and I going out for date night, well, one of our helper’s was recovering from the same virus. Doubtful she’d make it. And when one of my brothers and his wife came for their regular shift on Saturday night to help with babies, bottles and baths, I had to warn them as soon as they arrived that we’d all been sick. They may have been faster than Santa’s sleigh in their getaway, and I didn’t blame them. They know what it is to experience grandkid viruses, and they have kids coming in from out of town too. Amazingly, our helper made it, and Daddy and I did get to go see a movie, a break, a couple hours of peace in a dark theater.
On Sunday, I finally got to go to church with Big Boy while Daddy watched the wee ones. Later that afternoon, we enjoyed a great Christmas concert at First United Methodist Church, LR. By evening we had help again and were able to run to a neighbor’s for a little Christmas cheer.
I mention and probably linger a bit much on these little Christmas vignettes because I was raised in a family that had its traditions and still does. I want that for my kids too. I want our family also to create its own traditions and allow for some planned memories and unexpected surprises.
That’s probably why the movie “A Christmas Story,” (1983) resonates so strongly. It tells the story of Ralphie whose greatest desire is for Santa to bring him an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock. Of course, his mom and everyone else, including Santa, tell him such a gift would put his eye out. Ralphie, the adult, narrates the story, and refers to his dad as The Old Man, a guy who wins a major award at work and receives it in the mail: a leg lamp–the beautiful fishnet stockinged leg of a woman with a fringed shade (see below).
These touches from the movie remind us that whether it’s the 1940s or 2009, the memories made in family, both silly and sacred, stay with us. Ralphie does eventually get his gun, but it does lead to a ricochet that hits just below his glasses; he flinches, drops his glasses in the snow, loses them, and then steps on them and breaks them. As Ralphie concocts a story about how an icicle broke his glasses, the pesky neighbor dogs run through their kitchen, carry off the turkey, leading the family to eat Christmas dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.
As we drove home a week or two ago, our neighbors who live at the entrance to our street had put up their leg lamp, straight out of “A Christmas Story.” I was concerned because they have been remodeling, and there’s a dumpster in front of their home. I thought they might not bother with decorations, but I was pleasantly pleased to see the lamp prominently displayed in their front window and the dumpster decorated with lights and a lighted candy cane. As we drove past our neighbor’s home, my husband and I proclaimed in unison, “The leg lamp is up!”
I wonder if our boys may one day come home for holidays from college or with their families and yell as they pass the neighbor’s, “The leg lamp is up!” 
Tags: A Christmas Story movie, Christmas traditions, Leg lamp, Merry Christmas Mouse, The Princess and the Frog, virus
A pastor on leave and wife of U.S. congressman Vic Snyder, Betsy is the mother to a toddler son and infant triplets.
I love this post Betsy.
Holidays remind us how often traditoins change, and as they do, we see new versions of ourselves.
I like the tasteless lamp.
It says that no matter what we believe, there’s always another way to look at things.
[...] Cheerios: The Leg Lamp Is Up : Stepping on Cheerios [...]
my kiddo was introduced to the christmas story this year, and loved it. we also look for leg lamps in the windows of our neighbors, and have a little ornament one for our tree! traditions make this “the most wonderful time of the year!”
I am that crazy neighbor and just want you to know that I, too, hope the boys will come home from college and see that Leg Lamp – because that means we will be neighbors for a long, long time! I’ll do my part and make sure to place it carefully in that window each and every year! Happy New Year to all of you!