It's a Small, Small World

Our "grandcat," daughter Heidi's Turbo, loves to crawl into small spaces, the smaller the better. He squeezes himself  into all kinds of boxes and baskets, kneads the ground beneath him and purrs contentedly, his tail curled around him. I look at him and wish I could be as content in my confined space as he is. Some days are better than others!

This Advent season seems different than any we have experienced while living in Canada. Added to the threat of the Coronavirus (which means we all stay at home, especially seniors like us who are most vulnerable), we experienced a medical emergency at the end of November. Hardy was not well for several days. With the hospitals overcrowded due to the epidemic, we were reluctant to go to Emergency, but on the advice of a good friend who is a nurse we went. He was admitted immediately as his condition was more serious than we realized. He had a strangulated hernia and a twisted intestine, and after they did all the tests, they did a laparoscopic procedure in the early morning hours. I could not go in to see him, but I spoke to a lovely nurse who took all my frantic calls and assured me that he was doing well. My sisters sent prayers and delicious noodle soup and muffins.

One morning I went to our mailbox just wishing for something to cheer me up. I reached in and pulled out a flyer. Then I felt something way in the back of the box. I retrieved a small blue envelope. It was from granddaughter Sasha (Turbo's caregiver) and it was addressed to "Oma." In it were some loving words and some hearts. It made my day!

Sasha's blue envelope reminded me of our years in the Congo (1965-1984). We lived for those blue aerograms from home, especially during the Christmas season. All we could do was write and receive letters, hoping that the mail would get through; sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. 

Our situation now during the Coronavirus pandemic, with our province in lockdown, reminds me of the sense of isolation and insecurity I felt in Africa, during the early years, before I knew the language and the people. Although we took our anti-malaria pills faithfully, there was always the threat of malaria, particularly during the humid rainy season at Christmastime. However, we usually found something to cheer us up and make us laugh.
Our African gray parrot stayed with friends for a couple of months while we went home on leave. They taught him to say something he repeated over and over after our return: "Hardy has a pr... ." The parrot never finished the sentence and we couldn't understand what Hardy was supposed to have until our friends laughingly finished the sentence: "Hardy has a problem!" His problem at that time was a ruptured appendix requiring emergency surgery.

It's important to find things to make us laugh and feel loved while we are confined to a small space. We can't change the situation, so we might as well get comfortable like Turbo! 

Going for a daily walk helps, and many people in our area are doing that, especially during these exceptionally mild December days.
The other day I saw a couple taking their small child for a ride in a sled, the dad pulling and the mom walking behind. The little one kept falling off, not yet having a proper sense of balance. Finally the mom got on the sled as well and the dad pulled them both, end of problem!

 

On the same street is a huge teddy bear that opens its arms wide when I approach and closes them in a hug. Always makes me smile.

Then there are the "back-deck window visits" we get from our daughter Christine and family. We look at each other through the window and use our phones to communicate. They brought Hardy (who came home after three days in hospital) one of his favorite meals which he and grandson Ben often enjoy when they go out together.

When I think back to that first Christmas in Bethlehem, it seems that this year Christmas is much more like that first one. Confined to a small space, with the animals crowding around, a bed of hay for a cradle, far away from home and loved ones -- that was not the ideal way to celebrate a baby's birth. But then there were the shepherds and the angels and later the wise men with their gifts.

In the midst of uncertainty and confusion, may you experience some extra special blessings this Christmas season!