We ventured out today with a vauge plan established. We had to drop by my office to pick up my revised paycheck (they'd accidently made it out with my friend's business name at the top...so when I tried to pass that off at the bank, they just snickered at me and told me to come back when I could get my name straight), and then after that we'd come to a tentative decision to go see Return of the King again.

By the time we left the office however, and were on our way to other errands, I realized that by the time we braved the crowds to pick up some last minute groceries... and also went to visit my Dad, that we weren't going to be able to fit in the afternoon matinee of the movie. So...off into the melee we went.

Holy guacamole... people lose their minds on Christmas. People are rushing around like they had been denied their Prozac for a few weeks!!! Ambulances screamed up one side street, and before their sirens were even out of earshot...I notice another ambulance and firetruck right in the middle of the main avenue. Sure enough, two cars had plowed eachother. As we crept by, I glanced over as they hauled an elderly man out of the driver's side of a white sedan, bracing him on a stretcher. His wife was in the passenger's seat still, eyes closed. She probably had a ham roasting in the oven.... maybe even fresh cookies with red and green sprinkles on the top set out to cool. Little did she know they'd be feasting their Eve dinner at the hospital.

We attempted going to a local Safeway supermarket, but there wasn't a parking space to be found. We gingerly made our way through the lot, wholeheartedly agreeing that it was NOT worth fighting the crowds. We'd end up wanting to kill someone by the time we got out of there! So we took off for a favorite Teriyaki place, enjoyed the fact that it was abandoned of all holiday guerillas, and got some take-out.

I wanted to pick up some chocolate covered cherries for Dad (his favorite) before we visited him, so we drove across the river to another market we figured wouldn't be as crowded. I guess the policeman directing traffic in and out of their parking lot was a big hint as to our misguided hopes....but it was the last stop before Retirementville.... so it had to be done. A quick trip up and down the aisles, expertly weaving in and out of dumbfounded holiday shoppers who had waited til the last minute to figure out what they were going to have for dinner.... we nabbed the choco-cherries, some snacks for ourselves, and were back out the door before anybody could say Jingle Bells.

When we arrived at the nursing home, there was an eerie calm to it. Normally we were there around dinner time - and there was always a certain amount of bustling done then. But the dining hall was closed up tight, and only the faint sound of a radio playing Christmas carols bounced off the dull white walls. When we got to Dad's door, it was shut. The first time it was like that since we'd been visiting him there. I glanced over at the nurse's station, and she must have seen my puzzled look. She motioned for me to go in and said "he likes it closed....but go ahead and open it."

I told hubby to wait while I went in to check. I opened the door and slipped inside... and all was dark. Obviously Dad's deaf roomie had been moved elsewhere (no doubt because of Dad's very vocal complaints about the guy's TV blasting at top volume day and night), and in the near-pitch dark...I couldn't even tell if Dad was still there. Not wanting to startle him, I let my eyes adjust and followed the sound of the oxygen machine to the far side of the room. Sure enough, there was someone in that bed...but with the thin light seeping in through the slatted blinds, it was hard to tell if it was really him. He looked so....small...in the bed. He was on his side facing the wall, covers pulled up over his head. He had lost a lot of weight... so much so that I wasn't convinced it was him until I saw the Happy Hand trucker hat I'd brought to him in the hospital. It was on his bedside stand.

I snuck back out to hubby and told him that Dad was sleeping. I got a piece of paper and a pen from the nurse, and scribbled out a note to put with the candies....and I was going to leave them on his dinner tray, but when I started walking back in, I heard the distinct sound of someone rustling up from the bed.

Turns out he'd woken up in the short time it took me to write the note. So - I waited a moment for him to get himself settled, and then got hubby. We sat for an hour chatting with him, watching him savor the chocolate covered cherries with pure joy. He couldn't believe I'd remembered they were his favorite.

With a promise of bringing some homemade food for tomorrow's dinner, we left...having had a good chat, glad to see he was doing even better than last time we'd seen him. I'll be glad when my sister and brother come back up next week though.... I'm desperately needing some backup in dealing with some issues, namely Dad's insurance... and their input is going to be so helpful.

So...we made it back home with a little bit of daylight to spare. I've got a new magazine about the writer's market, and a kettle heating up downstairs, ready for tea at any moment. I think I'm going to cozy up on my Pier One couch (LOVE Pier One!!), pull a blanket up under my chin, and just disappear into the magazine for awhile. I may peek my head up just enough to see if it's still snowing out...but other than that, the rest of the night is all about being content with simple things, like the dog that will be curling up on my feet to keep them warm while I snuggle.