Christmas Eve Eve

Well, it's Christmas Eve Eve and it looks nothing like this outside. We have lots of wet stuff and it's cold but not frozen; no ice, no snow and everyone can drive safely (not that they do, but they can).

The good news is, MY SHOPPING IS DONE! I was beginning to think I would never get there. The celebrations begin tomorrow so all I have left to do is wrap a few more items, do some advance preparation for the meals, then sit back and enjoy everyone's experience.

So, I looked for a Christmas movie to watch while I was typing and landed on an Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison movie that must be at least 20 years old. It's playing on the family channel so enough said. But at least it has snow and takes place at Christmas. It was this or "The Spy Who Loved Me", "The Green Berets" or "The Breakfast Club", somehow those just didn't fill me with the proper seasonal cheer, how about you? I guess there must be non-Christians in charge of the network programming for all these channels. Funny thing though, all the commercials know the season. Once this is over, I'm off to complete my elfing, and throw something together for dinner.

Today was an interesting and sobering day. At Safeway, I ran into the mom of someone who used to work for me at US Bank. That means she recognized me after 10 years of being gone from there. I was too surprised to even ask about her daughter so hopefully I'll see her again and be able to find out about Heidi. She said she lives close by to the store so I'm hopeful I can rectify my poor manners.

After that, I went out to visit my friend Penny. It turns out Penny was moved from her retirement apartment at the beginning of December to a foster home as she has become increasingly forgetful and paranoid. The good news is, she still recognizes her friends and her family (during the day) so I didn't have to explain who I was. For the last few years I've given her calendars that have pictures of nuns doing crazy things. The 2007 calendar had photos of them riding a huge roller coaster, riding scooters, riding in a trailer being pulled by a tractor, playing Twister, and all manner of other crazy things. She laughed at every single picture so it was worth it just sharing her enjoyment. I talked to her daughter, Mary, before going out there and she thinks it's Alzheimers. That is especially sobering for Mary and her siblings since her dad already died of the same disease about 3-4 years ago. I have to make a point of getting back out there in the next month so Penny is still aware enough to know me. You never know when or how quickly this disease will deteriorate the brain functions.

How do we take and keep control of our aging process? This isn't the time or the place to get into this but it is weighing on my mind tonight. Not only from my own aging perspective but that of my parents and other close relatives, and even my friends and their parents.

But, this is the eve of hope and peace and a positive vision of the future. So, I'm off to watch the original "Miracle on 34th Street" and "While You Were Sleeping". Ta Ta All!