Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas lights...a holiday memory

Tomorrow it will be the third anniversary of one of the most bizarre days of my life, when I took The Engineer to the ER and we found out he had "something" bad on his brain. Thankfully, that "something" (an abscess) was successfully removed on January 2, 2007, and today he has no lingering aftereffects. We are so thankful!

The Engineer was admitted to the hospital that day, December 19th. I took Chickie with me to spend most of the day there each day, until he was released on the 23rd.

One of those nights I drove home in the dark. I was weary. It had only been a couple of days, but I was feeling the physical and emotional fatigue that overwhelms someone who has been suddenly knocked over by the sledgehammer of family illness.

I drove through our neighborhood, seeing the lights people had put on their houses. We hadn't put lights on the outside of our house, but I liked seeing our neighbors' decorations. I turned the corner onto our street.

And there, on our lawn, were two decorative deer, brightly shining with white lights, welcoming me home. I immediately burst into tears. I had no idea who had put them there, but they were just the lift my heavy spirit needed.

Several days later I found out which neighbor had put the deer on the lawn. He nervously asked me if that was okay. I don't think I managed to adequately convey to him how much the gesture had meant to me. Hopefully he was more convinced when, after New Year's, I repeatedly turned down his offers to take the deer off the lawn. By then The Engineer was recovering from surgery, and some days I was still coming home late at night from visiting him. The shining deer sat there, longer than Christmas decorations really "should" be out, bringing light not only to the neighborhood, but also to my heart.

Thanks, Marc and Melanie. Three years later, your gesture of kindness remains as one of my most treasured holiday memories.

20 comments:

Jyoti said...

Touching !!!
Such kind gestures leave a strong impression on one's minds and they stay for a lifetime.

beckiwithani said...

I remember that well, and I still cry reading about it! So kind.

beckiwithani said...

P.S. Love your new design!

Dave said...

Very moving story....thanks for sharing....

Special K said...

Awwww...tears!

Tom said...

It's funny how the lawn decorations seem to help give you the inner strength to carry on, and bring a little joy into what would of been a very sad situation.

Maybe that light that they produced gave you that "special light" to carry on.

p.s. Luv the new design for the Blog

Juniper Saltus said...

What a beautiful story. It always warms my heart to hear of people doing nice things for each other. It's not something we get to hear enough about these days!

[--And I am so glad The Engineer is ok after that ordeal! How scary!--]

Call Me Cate said...

What a beautiful thing for your neighbors to do. So simple and yet I bet they had no idea it would touch you that much.

And I'm so glad the story of the Engineer has such a positive conclusion. Though I suppose it doesn't ACTUALLY conclude for many years to come.

Our Scoop said...

That is a beautiful story! What a wonderful gesture.

I love your Christmas background!

Laurel said...

I remember that...thank you for the retelling of the story. It's the kindness and the love people bring that gives us hope, encouragement and let's us know Christ is very near.

2Wired2Tired said...

This has to be one of your favorite Christmas memories. What a touching and thoughtful gesture by your neighbor.

I enjoyed the Christmas spirit of your post so much I selected it to share the spotlight in Favorite Post Friday over on my blog. Congrats!

Janell said...

What a sweet story. Thanks for sharing.

Stephanie Manner Wagner said...

I love this! What a wonderfully kind gesture by your neighbor. I really appreciate the chance to share in this memory of yours.

2cats said...

I am glad that the Engineer has no lingering effects of the abscess.
What your neighbor did is what living in a neighborhood is all about. I always thought that if you don't want to interact with neighbors you should either live in a sterile huge condo building or on the South Pole.
Merry Christmas.

InspiredDreamer said...

Wow, what a blessing. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your sweet comment on my "Haikus" as well. I took my cue from you, Ms Limerick. :)

*Monica said...

What a wonderful story. I love it when people are surprisingly kind!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful memory, Beth. I too am thankful for the Mark and Melanie's of the world who see darkness and look for a way to bring light!

Eternal Lizdom said...

That is a beautiful, wonderful, magical, awesome Christmas story!!

Krissi McVicker said...

What a beautiful story...it warms my heart just reading about it! What great neighbors you have and what great news that he's ok now. Happy Holidays!
http://myordinarymiraclesblog.com

Eternal Lizdom said...

Just wanted to let you know that I'm pulling together a collection of Christmas stories that will post on Weds on my blog and I will be linking to this one- I just love it!