Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
I am a bit of a control freak. Not so much in that I want to control other people’s lives…just that I always want to be in control of my own. Unfortunately for all of humanity (and me), things rarely go as planned.
It was the Christmas season of 2010. My oldest daughter who was 4 years old at the time had recently been diagnosed with cancer. However, her treatments were going well, and we were looking forward to the upcoming Christmas celebrations. The week of Christmas drew closer and closer, and my daughter’s cough was getting yuckier and yuckier. Her skin was growing more and more pale, and my worries were increasing. We didn’t want her to miss the Christmas fun, so we finally broke down and called the doctor.
After a few blood tests, the doctors decided my daughter needed a blood transfusion. Her red counts were too low, and her immune system was in the tanker all around. By now it was Christmas Eve, so we waited in the ER. And waited. And waited.
It took hours for the blood product to be prepared, and then for us to be transferred to a hospital room on the hospital’s children’s floor. As you can imagine, none of this was going according to my “master plan” for the perfect Christmas.
Around midnight, the blood was at last ready. It was officially Christmas morning, but the nurse assured me we could be discharged as soon as the transfusion ended. In fact, she could transfuse more quickly than normal in order to get us out sooner! Great news, right? No, not so much.
You see, things just got worse and worse, and before we knew it we were looking at 8am Christmas morning, with our youngest daughter 45 miles away at Grandma’s house. At last we were discharged, and we headed out of the hospital. Low and behold, it had snowed overnight (something that almost never happens in Alabama, but certainly not for Christmas!). The world was a beautiful winter wonderland, and we got to drive home in the untainted snow since no one else was out and about on this lovely Christmas morning.
Our daughter was in great spirits after getting the boost the transfusion had given her, and by the time we made it to Grandma’s house the rest of the family had arrived. It turned out to be a great memory, and a wonderful celebration—in spite of my plans going out the window.
My daughter’s treatments ended in 2013, and today she is doing fantastically well. Our Christmas plans continue to go amiss, but I’ve learned to let this be. Life is like that, and you never know how things are going to turn out. It taught me to let go and let God, a bit of a cliché these days but true all the same.
This Christmas season may I have the pleasure of wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year? And may all of HIS master plans be fulfilled in you!
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Katie Clark has been telling stories since she was seven years old. When she grew up and realized people liked hearing the stories, well, she was hooked. She spends her days telling tales to her two wee daughters, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Katie’s published works include her upcoming YA novel, Vanquished, the first book in the Enslaved series, as well as numerous children’s books. You can connect with her at her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter.
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