Anyone do Christmas after Christmas?

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

On 12/20/2021 at 9:57 PM, DreamerGirl said:

From where I stand, You are an amazing human being, not just a mother. Gosh, just watching Delta spread through my country of origin and the devastation it caused among my circle took me down a spiral. I did not lose close family and yet I was devastated. You see COVID day after day, you had it twice if I am counting right and still you stand. 

You are strong, courageous, compassionate, selfless and there is nothing terrible about you. You are super woman to me. The only thing I relate is having nothing to give. Please do not beat yourself up. If you were living close by I would drop off food to nourish you and yours every single day because you so deserve it. 

Please be gentle to yourself. Do what you can. Read books, make soup, turn on the music, play games, watch movies, bake store bought cookie dough, take lots of naps. Just be together. There is no wrong way to celebrate Christmas. Rest. Nourish yourself. You give so much. Anything you give will be enough, I promise. 

Oh my goodness. This is one of the kindest things I’ve ever read and it made me cry.

I asked my kids what is important to them; what Christmas activities are their favorite.  The 11-year-old said his favorite part of Christmas is the years Mom and Dad go to work because Grandma lets him play with whatever electronic he got longer than we do. 😂. My 9-year-old just wants hot chocolate and cuddled on the couch watching movies. My 6-year-old wants to watch Santa on the firetruck—there’s a local fire department that drives Santa around the streets on top of a firetruck so kids who maybe can’t go see Santa at the mall due to transportation or money, or kids who are sick, or now quarantined, can see Santa.  Apparently this is a highlight for my son. 
This week I worked a 24 yesterday, a 24 tomorrow, a day shift Christmas and a 24 hour shift on Sunday, but then I took a week off.  We can see Santa on the firetruck tonight and spend lots of time next week cuddling and drinking hot chocolate.  I’m giving myself permission not to stress about this. 

[marbel]

10 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I’m giving myself permission not to stress about this. 

I'm so happy to read this update! 

And, DreamerGirl is right. I often thank God, literally, for people like you. You and your family give a huge gift to the world. 💓

[Kassia]

8 minutes ago, marbel said:

You and your family give a huge gift to the world. 💓

Yes, you do!  Thank you!  

[brehon]

Damn skippy you’re not gonna stress!

You enjoy every blessed minute away from that damned ambulance. I know I take whatever respite I can when I can. We’re so short staffed that most of us aren’t allowed to take vacation/holiday time and are working 48-24s. It is unsustainable. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

5 minutes ago, brehon said:

Damn skippy you’re not gonna stress!

You enjoy every blessed minute away from that damned ambulance. I know I take whatever respite I can when I can. We’re so short staffed that most of us aren’t allowed to take vacation/holiday time and are working 48-24s. It is unsustainable. 

I’m honestly not holding my breath.  I expect Omnicron to wipe us out with quarantines the next few weeks.  Everyone is vaccinated and some of us are boostered, but a positive still requires a quarantine even if you’re not sick. What’s killing us at the moment is long distance transfers. 6+ hours one way. I understand why, but it’s a huge strain on the EMS system.  We run all 911 and IFT in the county and pinch hit for critical care IFTs in the regional area.  And I decided now was a fantastic time to take my flight paramedic certification test.  
 

I am going to enjoy every minute I can squeeze out. But I’m not really expecting a full week off with only one 24 in the middle.  We’re going to do the best we can.

[brehon]

Oh, ugh! 911 & IFTs?!?! We do critical care IFTs as well, but they’re under 20% of our overall volume. I’m also quite certain that my area is much more urban with more major hospitals. So, none of our crit care transfers are over an hour. I really feel for you.

 I just had a potential exposure the other day. What presented as pure status asthmaticus and responded really, really well to meds and BiPAP turned into a positive Covid test. Only *someone* <ahem> didn’t take the time to don their  damn respirator; *someone* stayed in their unfitted KN95. We do put a B/V filter on the exhalation part of the vent circuit and there are other filters in place as well but damn. And, yes, *someone* is vax’d and boostered so it probably isn’t as big a deal as it seems.

And flight medic test?! Good heavens, woman! 

[fairfarmhand]

On 12/20/2021 at 8:07 AM, barnwife said:

This. Tell them since everything is weird due to *all this*, you are having a "Backwards Christmas," which means doing the big celebration first, and the other stuff later. 

I know a family that randomly does "Backwards Days," where they do their daily routine in reverse basically. So after waking up they watch a TV show, eat dinner, do their afternoon school routine even though it's morning, have lunch, do morning stuff in the afternoon, eat breakfast, etc...They even eat dessert first at any applicable meals! 

ETA: Yes, it won't be their first choice, but that doesn't mean it can't still be good or even great. Maybe it ends up being the Christmas they remember the most!

Our kids would also be at least momentarily disappointed by this if there hadn't been forewarning. But I'd make it clear it's the way it is, put a smile on my face, and enjoy doing all the things, with or without them!

Also, if the kids don’t wanna, perhaps they will get into it once they see mom and dad in it. “Oh you don’t want bake Christmas cookies. Ok. I want to anyway, so if you change your mind I’ll be in the kitchen.”