It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas. Maybe it is the first snow storm of the season that’s forecast for tomorrow. Maybe it is because there are more Christmas Specials being advertised. Maybe it is because Costco has Christmas stuff in it - no that would be August.
Oh I know why – I got a Christmas present today. It is the most expensive present I have ever received. It is a present that will take all the things that I am trying to learn at Advent (anticipation, waiting, patience, ADVENTure) and really truly apply them, not in some academic, yellow foolscap sort of way, but truly and fully. It is really appreciating that Christmas really represents something that goes well beyond a display at the local mall or even a snappy sermon on Christmas Eve.
My bypass surgery is scheduled for January 25th, 2010. I have it in my planner. I even am planning to return to work on April 19th, 2010. I have no idea if this will happen. A lot of my very good friends talk about Living One Day at a Time and yet this does not violate that. Living One Day at a Time does not mean that you cannot plan and anticipate and hope. In fact, if I view the start of this part of my journey as being today, it will cover Advent, Christmas, Lent , and Easter. All that I think about these feast days will really distill in the crucible of my soul. I wonder if I will like the taste of what comes out. But this I must say – for a pretty non religious, non spiritual sort of person it is going to be quite the journey.
I am recording this for the future. The call came in at about 3:30 in the afternoon from what they charmingly call the Triage Unit. They told me my surgeon’s name, told me he is good, told me that my wife and I have to come in for assessment and information, told me to let them know if my condition changes. They called me young, which I liked, and called me Sir which made me feel like I was at the bank. They filled me with hope and anticipation. It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas.