December '08 - A Christmas Tradition

Every year for the past ten years or so, my dear friend Nancy and I take a trip to Santa Barbara to do some Christmas shopping and have a long leisurely lunch at our favorite restaurant Pascucci's. This year was no exception. We had bruscetta, and risotto, drank a glass of wine and sat by a fire reminiscing.

I don't know what happened last year, but for some reason, we just couldn't get away and we missed our Christmas tradition.

In 2006, I broke my ankle, but we valiantly made our trek to S.B. taking along my wheel chair. Nancy developed big muscles pushing me all over S.B. collecting packages along the way. At one point, she almost lost me picking up momentum going down the handicap curb, laughing all the way. She will probably never know how much that trip lifted my spirit. Once again we had our lunch at Pascucci's and all was right with world.

In 2005 I was ill with some unknown illness for weeks. It was the week before Christmas and I hadn't done any Christmas shopping, and I was tired of the doctors not knowing what to do with me. I had just gone in for a disgusting test where I had to swallow this nasty white liquid (about a gallon of it) so that they could take some pictures of my intestine. I was in and out of the lab by 7 o'clock in the morning and I was ready to get out of Bakersfield. I still wasn't feeling well, but by George, I wanted my shopping trip.

Nancy agreed to help me get out of town. We decided that S.B., while only two hours and fifteen minutes away from home might be just a little too much, considering the way I had been feeling. Valencia was much more reasonable, so off we went. I remember having to walk pretty slowly and barely being able to finish a bowl of soup, but by four o'clock we had most of our shopping finished. We were headed into one more store when the doctor's office called and said they found a shadow on my intestine and told me to go directly to the hospital. Of course, I had to tell them I was an hour and fifteen minutes away from home doing my Christmas shopping. Anyway, they told me to have my husband pick up my test results at the lab and meet me there A.S.A.P. At least Nancy and I had our day. By the time I got home I had a fever and was admitted to the hospital, spending the next six days there, to be released just two days before Christmas. As I recall my dear friend Nancy even wrapped my presents for me that year.

What would we do without our friends? I hate to even imagine.