In the Waiting Room

While looking through one of my old spiral notebooks this afternoon, I found this little stream-of-conscience piece I had written while waiting at the children’s hospital with my family for results on my youngest son, Christoper’s MRI results on the remnants of his brain tumor. I’d forgotten I’d written this!

Since it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, I failed to write down the date that I created it. Considering this was a time when I was still married, I’m guessing this note was sometime between 2014 and 2020.

I found this very short message somehow touching and visceral, so I decided to share it here with you all, my friends from all over the world.

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As I wait with my son and husband to be called back to one of the patient rooms, my body is a walking zombie with dopey (? can’t read) and sleeping waves rolling through me.

Christopher waits patiently to find out, as do his dad and I, what his MRI results are.

Yellows, oranges, and reds across from us with an astronaut posing with arms outstretched to take off any minute.

A blue sky with wispy clouds frame the silver suit flaming reds and blues.

Makeshift wings stand alert, unfolded and bold at his sides.

A blue screen sixty feet across sleeps, displaying no images. Is this a resting mini-theater scheduled for future shows?

Several images representing flying. Flying high, soaring, reaching, transcending illness, challenges, pain, and crossing over to healing an all-encompassing healing of soul and body.

Flying correlates with a sense of spiritual ascendency.

But truly, if I close my eyes, I could fall right to sleep.

This Valium affects me like never before, and not just takes off the anxious edge, but this time, it’s created a drowsiness where everything, including me, moves in slow motion, like those running on film that is slowed down, and the person’s arms and legs rotate like the gears of a clock running out of batteries.

Hopefully, soon, we shall be sitting in the patient room hearing something akin to no change or dissipated remnant. Only God knows.

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In 2020, my son’s brain tumor disappeared. He’d had it since he was an infant (don’t know the exact point it appeared and grew in his head, but he was diagnosed with the brain tumor attached to his brain stem in 2003 when he was 13 months old). We were so surprised when the doctor said the tumor was gone, I remember. I nearly couldn’t speak. However, it was welcome news and joy grew inside me and life changed at that moment for Christopher and the whole family. Thank you, God!

A Special and Earth-Shattering Event

In two days, my family and I will be celebrating the birth of Christ, Who took on flesh from his Holy Mother, the Theotokos (or Virgin Mary).

I remember my family visiting the Natural History Museum up in Denver many years ago, and the timeline of human history displayed on the wall.

In the middle of that timeline was the birth of Christ.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been rather bothered by the lack of mention of Christ’s coming birth and rarely anything in stores carrying Christmas decorations and cards even mentioning the Christ Child.

I think in the past couple of decades, the meaning of Christ’s birth and how it impacted the world has been minimized.

Yes, we recognized the commercialism aspect that really took off many decades ago. However, it seems on steroids today!

The colossal event of Christ’s birth and coming in the flesh and walking among us humans is nothing short of miraculous and amazing! It is why the Natural History Museum couldn’t leave out that event in human history.

No matter the change of Before Christ to Before the Common Era, I asked myself, what does that actually mean? What was the “Before the Common Era”, and what does “Common Era” actually mean?

Looking up info on it, the term is also called “Before the Current Era,” which also means “Before the Christian Era”.

Obviously, we know this was done for religious neutrality. Although, I find that ridiculous. Because Christmas is all about Christ’s birth.

Other holidays that fall around this time and wishing those celebrating them a blessed one, I’ve no problem with.

However, I do think that although “Merry Christmas” seemed to have been somewhat muted in the past 10-15 years, it’s actually back to being said for those who wish to say it, which usually are us Christians, but sometimes others say this as well.

Unfortunately, I came down with an illness yesterday afternoon and have been in bed since then, I’m hoping I’ll be on the tale end of this bug when Christmas Day is here in two days!

I’m planning a roast beef dinner, and my oldest son, Nicholas, will be cooking duck for the first time!

As I’ve been reading the Gospel of Luke, I’ll leave these beautiful verses that Linus echoed in the Peanuts’ Christmas:

8″Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9″And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10″Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11″For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12″And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13″And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

A very Merry Christmas, everyone! Christ is born! Glorify Him!