A Heck of a Christmas

or

The Christmas from Heck

Christmas 1997

It didn't start out that way. Really. About a week before the big day, we had done about 90% of our Christmas shopping. We'd made about 15 loaves of our braided Christmas bread ready for delivery to friends and neighbors. We had a Christmas tree, although it wasn't yet decorated or in the house. Our cards were ready; we'd even begun to mail a few. Abigail had her Christmas list all ready. It included 2 feet of snow right at the top. Of course we didn't expect that much to fall. We had too much to do in the garden and yard over the Christmas weekend! The request for snow was followed by lots of other things, including a puppy dog, Talk with me Barbies, and a stereo. She even wrote her own version of "the Twelve Days of Christmas", listing some of the things she wanted. It looked like we were right on schedule to getting everything done in time for Santa's arrival.

Then it happened. All heck broke loose! First Wendy got sick. With a fever above 101°, she couldn't get out of bed for a couple of days (and is still recovering). We did manage to get the living room rearranged and the tree positioned in its stand on Sunday, but the decorating would have to wait until the next day. We never did get the load of firewood into the garage that we were going to need by Christmas day.

Monday afternoon Elizabeth had a doctor's appointment and Abigail had a school presentation and a party, both at 1:30 P.M. Parents were invited to the school for the party. Wendy went to the doctor's office; Rich went to the school. In the evening we decorated the tree and mailed a couple more Christmas cards. There was a forecast of 3"-5"of snow for Tuesday morning. No problem! Rich would go to work, then do a little shopping on the way home. Wendy could finish her shopping with Elizabeth. We could spend part of the evening delivering loaves of bread to neighbors and get the rest of the cards mailed

Tuesday morning there was about 6" of snow on the ground. Rich shoveled the driveway so Wendy could get the car out (and back in), then he left for work. Southbound on Route 3, traffic was slow but moving well, at least until the last hill before exit 1. That's where the tractor trailer truck was backing down the hill. Rich, in the 4 wheel drive pickup, and most of the other cars were able to pass the truck. At work it became clear that the storm was not going to stop at 5", 6" or even 1 foot. People began to leave so their cars would not become stuck forever in the parking lot. Rich left and decided to still do the shopping he needed to do on the way home. A bad mistake! After finishing the shopping, he planned to take the highway home. Traffic was very bad. The roads were packed with people going almost nowhere. The Route 3 highway entrance near the mall is a short road that eventually splits into two entrance ramps, one for those who wish to go north, the other for those going south. When Rich got to the split, the northbound ramp was closed by a trailer truck jackknifed in the middle of it. Everyone had to go south. So there he was heading south into Massachusetts, when he really wanted to go north and home. That may have been providential, though. From his vantage point of driving south on the highway at 35 mph, he could see all the cars driving north on the other side of the highway at zero mph. After driving through Massachusetts for nearly a couple of hours at about 8 mph, he arrived in Hollis, New Hampshire where much reduced traffic and better road conditions made the rest of the trip relatively uneventful. The rest of the evening was spent digging the truck out of the drift at the end of the driveway and clearing the driveway of snow. The mailbox was retrieved from the snow drift where the plow had knocked it. Driveway measurements indicated we got at least 17" of soft, powdery snow!

The next day, Christmas Eve, was clear, but another storm was forecast for the evening. Maybe snow, maybe freezing rain, maybe rain. In any case more shoveling was necessary to clear roads and paths before the snow was rained on. We still need a load of firewood, now more than ever. And we needed to pull some of the snow off the roof. Oh yes, Christmas too. Presents to wrap; dinner to cook; mailbox to fix; cards to mail. Forget the cards now. Its to late for that. Rich got some of the shoveling done; the most vulnerable roof was scraped clean of snow; a truckload of wood was in the garage, still in the truck.

As Rich descends from the truck Wendy enters the garage.

"What's that Wendy?"

Abigail just threw up. She can't keep anything down.

Rich heats up a dinner of leftovers for Wendy and himself. Chicken noodle soup for Abigail. Abigail eats none of it and she continues to be sick for much of the night. One of us cares for Abigail, while the other looks after Elizabeth. The rest of us wrap presents and handle all those important final details.

Rich made sure there were enough cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. "Eight carrots," Abigail said. Although still very sick, she needed to count them herself while lying in bed.

Wendy managed to get to bed around midnight and Rich finally collapsed into bed at about 2:30 AM.

By 7:30 the next morning we were all up. Abigail was recovered and hungry. Let Christmas begin!

Presents to unwrap. Dinner to prepare. Oops! There's no stuffing for the turkey. No pies for dessert. Abigail's hungry now and she can eat. What can we do for Christmas dinner? Well there's a pizza crust in the freezer. Let's make pizza. The turkey can wait. Abigail was just as happy with the insert from the Spice Girls CD that Erika sent her. She also liked the train she made from cookies and candy.

All in all it's been a memorable Christmas.

We hope you had a memorable Christmas as well, or at least a Merry Christmas.

The Front Door

The Living Room

Last Updated: 12/25/97

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