Last night, Vickie picked up Billy and me from the airport after an eventful trip back to Oregon for the holidays. While we were home, I submitted my final paper of the semester, which felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. It was a very rigorous term, so it feels great to have most of the work behind me. I began working on my winter break project, which I'll need to submit before the semester is officially finished, but I am looking forward to undertaking that reading list over the next few weeks. I also checked my grades for the two classes I've completed, and overall I was quite pleased with how they turned out. I may have finally learned that perfection on my transcript is unimportant as long as I feel like I gave the classes my best effort. I know I could have done better in one of the classes if I hadn't also been taking two other ones and teaching, but as a whole, I feel very satisfied with what I was able to accomplish this term. I also feel relieved to have it behind me and to know there'll never be another one like it.
It was really nice to be in Oregon. I finally got to introduce Billy to Jordan, Krista's husband and my old friend, and we both got to meet their girls for the first time. I was so glad to have time to catch up with Krista and Jordan, and Clara and Evie were even more adorable in person, which I didn't think was possible. When we were saying our final goodbye and Clara waved and said "Bye Liz!" my heart grew three sizes that day. We also hosted a get together of old high school friends, and my friend Tina arrived early so we could meet her new baby, Sophia. Sophia was happy and smiley, and it was fun for me to see Tina as a new mom and talk to her about how she has begun to figure things out. (It was NOT fun to hear that she'd been in labor for over 24 hours. Yikes!) It was also great to see my friend Kelsey and several other girls we grew up with. We are all doing such different things, and we're in different phases in our personal and professional lives, but everyone is doing so well. It made me thankful that I grew up in a time and place where it was cool for girls to be smart and kind.
I was also glad to have a chance to spend time with family. I'm spoiled now that Vickie lives with us, but especially after such a difficult semester, I was really looking forward to going home to see my mom and dad. Mom continues to work really hard in her job downtown, and she told us that she recently realized she has worked 22 Saturdays this year. She has had to put in a lot of overtime, and her job sounds like a lot of work, so I was really thankful that she was able to take some time off to spend with us. My dad's parents, Mimi and Papa, finally got to town after several flight delays, and it was great to be able to see them for the holidays again this year. I was also glad to see my dad, and we finally got to hear more details about his trip to Chile. He also shared his photos of the trip with us, and it was nice to hear how much he enjoyed seeing the country with Nate and Judy and how nice his visit was with his exchange student host family.
Dad says he felt well during his trip, but unfortunately the tumors in his liver seem to have spread since his return. Shortly after we arrived in town, his doctors determined that he has some kind of blockage in his liver, so he underwent a procedure to try to alleviate the obstruction. The procedure was not as successful as the doctor had hoped it might be, so they are continuing to try to figure out what the next step will be. My dad has kept such a positive attitude and a determined spirit throughout his battle with cancer that it just feels so fundamentally unfair that the cancer does not recognize how badly he wants it out of his body. My dad and I are both such do-ers that I know it's hard for both of us when there doesn't seem to be anything that we can do. I was really thankful that we were home to try to help out and keep him company since he wasn't feeling well. Given Dad's health, we've decided to forgo the trip to Australia we had planned for January and will instead return to Oregon to spend some more time as a family. I had been looking forward to this winter break all semester, and now I am more appreciative than ever that I don't have to "report for duty" at school until late January. Billy has never been to Seattle, so I am also hoping we will be able to get up there with Mom during this next trip out. It will also be fun to have the chance to see Jordan, Krista, Tina, and their girls again. We're all hoping that Dad will be feeling better then, but if he is not, I am glad that I will be able to be home to help out with whatever he needs me to do. Plus, now that he has a DVR, we can catch as much Australian Open tennis as my heart desires! : )
It was hard for me to leave Portland, but it is always nice to come home to our own house, and Oscar is definitely happy we're back. After sleeping in this morning, we went up to Patti and Chuck's to exchange gifts before heading to Nana and Mr. Dick's to spend Christmas Eve with Chuck's side of the family. Billy's cousin Gina is newly engaged, and his cousin Chuckie recently finished his nursing program, so there was plenty of Christmas cheer with that side of the family this year. It was fun for me to have Vickie there, too. Billy's family has made me feel like one of their own for several years now, but having them adopt Vickie into the swing of things makes me realize anew how kind and welcoming they are. Now she's off to work at her church's Christmas Eve service before we all head up to Billy's Aunt Mary and Uncle Gary's house to celebrate with Patti's side of the family tomorrow.
I'm sorry that I won't get to see Nate or my Gramma Kingston this holiday season, but I feel more thankful than ever that I've gotten to spend the holidays with all of the other people who are most important to me. I hope all of you out there are enjoying plenty of good food, fun, and laughter with your loved ones this holiday season. My tendency to get caught up in my academics makes me appreciative that I have so many people in my life who remind me that the most important things in life are not printed between the covers of a book. I feel like I must have overused the words "thankful," "glad," and "appreciative" in this post, but I can't help feeling like my heart is full this Christmas. Cancer infuriates me, but it also reminds me that life doesn't promise us anything, and in just one day everything can change. I feel so fortunate that I got to hug and laugh with so many people I love this month, and I hope you'll all take a few extra minutes this season to do the same.
Growing up, my dad read us The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore every Christmas Eve before bed. In the spirit of that book, I'll close with:
Happy Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!
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