(Written late on December 24)Merry Christmas, one and all!
Robin and I returned home just before 6 p.m. after spending a few hours in Calgary at the Subaru dealership (our blue Forester has been out of service for several days; the problem has now been solved); we then drove home to attend a local Christmas Eve service (simply beautiful message by my academic dean, Steve Booth, and a magnificent rendition of one of my very favourite Christmas songs: "Mary, did you know?" sung by my gifted colleague, Kathy Seidler); then the Brandts dropped me off at our darling Rempel neighbours' home where R and I spent the remainder of the evening.
A full and memorable Christmas Eve indeed!
We laughed and cried as we remembered little Gabrien David's premature birth a year ago; I spent the night with his sister and brother when his mommy went into labour last December, and he was born a few hours later weighing just over 1 kg. I vividly remember his daddy returning home in the wee hours of the morning to tell me a son had been born to them; his due date was only in March. We prayed and cried on the steps, both acknowledging the possibility that their sweet little boy might not live long. But we hoped and we loved, and he lived. For a whole month.
What a blessing his short life was to all who knew him, however briefly. So on what would have been baby Gabrien's first birthday today, our hearts recall moments of joy and of sorrow, good memories and bittersweet ones.
After finally tearing ourselves away from our second "home" in the neighbourhood half an hour before midnight, R and I walked around the corner in the snow and received a phone message from a lefthanded kindred who'd―wait 'til you hear this!―baked us (from scratch) a fresh apple pie! I am impressed. {Thank you, PJ, beyond words, both for the thought and the late-night delivery.}
So as I type these pre-sleep paragraphs, surely goodness and mercy are following me all the minutes of this New Day! May goodness and mercy follow you all the days of this New Year. Please send news our way as time permits. We love staying in touch.
EP
P.S. We'll be spending Christmas Day with our extended Little/Mung Canadian family (this year in Airdrie). Thank you to all who sent mail (cyber and snail), and left messages on our answering machine this week. We haven't been home much of late for various reasons, some of which I'll happily write about Next Year. Our office will be closed between now and then. Watch this space. Soon I'll post a newsy NLSC entry in lieu of a pre-Christmas letter (hope you were able to digest last week's poem). And now, to all a good night!
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