Just not feeling Christmasy

I'm just not feeling in the Christmas spirit this year. We've put a wreath (Snowman-see previous post), bought a tree that we can plant outside (it's not got any decorations yet...hope to change that today or tomorrow), send cards and hung the ones we've received, purchased and started wrapping gifts, participated in Secret Santa at work and went to the staff 'holiday' party (it was not much fun...especially being groped by another faculty member that I don't know much about except his name-oogey!) And still not feeling the spirit of the season!

This is mainly due to the fact that my mom will be having surgery Christmas Eve for her severe case of carpal tunnel. It runs all the way to her neck. She's not had use of her left hand for about a month now-her fingers are so swollen that they look like Vienna Sausages (great imagery...I know...). Being ambidextrous makes this worse because as the doctor told my mother that your brain doesn't know how to deal with the loss and therefore confuses the person. Mom has learned to open some bottles with one hand (some are just impossible) as well as other every day tasks that we take for granted.

What makes this situation even more difficult is that my dad had been having some pains before Thanksgiving. His doctor sent him for some tests which came back with some bad news. There are lesions on his liver and spine. He was sent to see an oncologist who ordered more tests then sent Dad to see a pulmonologist, who ordered MORE tests. The conclusion so far is that they found a mass in Dad's lungs. The doctor's seem to think that this is cancer related to being exposed to asbestos. With Dad working in construction for 40+ years, I suppose this was inevitable. Dad goes in for a biopsy today. Please keep him and my mom in your thoughts and prayers. This will be a difficult journey for all of us and for those of you who I have already told, thank you for listening and being there for us. I love you!

I will attempt to keep everyone posted with updates on every one's conditions.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!