A Cold Milk Shake Makes a Happy Holiday

The holidays have come and gone and we didn’t have to run away after all.  We had strongly considered traveling to Florida to avoid another round of”flexible” holidays.  Since being divorced 4 years ago the dreaded holidays, especially Christmas,  have been different each time.  We have yet to find a pattern or rhythm to the days before or after.  The first year we woke up in a strange house looking out to buffalo grazing just yards from the window. This year after the urge to run away left my body I decided that being flexible is all that’s called for and that that was good enough.  The anticipation turned out to be worse than the day itself.  In fact on Christmas morning the sun was shining outside and I actually felt content inside. We opened gifts, ate a hearty breakfast and then my kids and I were off to the home to visit with grandma.  She had just finished her lunch of one scoop of mashed potatoes with lots of gravy (eaten more like soup) and a kid-size cup of vanilla ice cream.  She knew it was Christmas and was happy to open a few presents.  She wondered why she was alone on this special day.  I reminded her that her family was with her and she nodded as if she suddenly remembered who we were.  A person can only sit around the home so long on a beautiful day so we took her to the local ice cream parlor for a milk shake.  First she resisted going, saying we could just bring it back to her.  After wrangling her and her walker into the car she was unsure she wanted to get out once we arrived, but she did.  We found an available table and lingered for an hour, grandma slurping down every last drop of her shake.  We took the scenic route back to the home, driving through two parks and choosing streets with cool holiday decorations.  Our timing was perfect as other residents were also arriving back to the home after visiting with family for the day.  My kids and I then finished our day with a dinner with my daughter’s boyfriend’s family and movie.  And at the end of the day it was that cold milkshake that’ll mark this day for years to come.

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