A Different Kind of Christmas

We haven’t traveled at Christmastime in over a decade, so staying home is normal for us. We rarely see family at Christmas, so celebrating alone is normal for us.

But in this Covid year, I got on a plane four days before Christmas and left for LA (which was a hotspot for the virus), and my parents and their dog came to us to stay for a whole month.

Why? It turns out when you hurt your knee, put off getting an MRI, and try to tough it out for several months, it’s possible to mess up your cartilage pretty badly.

Scott found a surgeon who had developed his own device that can repair my kind of tear, whereas every one of the dozens of surgeons in Oregon who I called would only remove the cartilage completely. Since I didn’t want a knee replacement in my 40s, the rad surgeon operates in LA, and he had an opening come up before the end of the year (#deductible), I booked flights and a Covid test and jumped through all manner of pre-op hoops and 3 days later got on a plane.

It definitely made for an exciting Christmas.

10 Things that Happened in LA:

• My required covid test results were delayed, so after a desperate call to my anesthesiologist while in the lobby at LAX, I hobbled down to an Urgent Care open late near my hotel and got a psuedo-acceptable Covid test the night before my operation.
• I was told via voicemail (during my layover in Denver the day before surgery) that if I didn’t have a family member or friend in LA who could pick me up from the surgery center, they would cancel my procedure. Apparently Uber doesn’t cut it. Makes sense, but I wish they would have clarified this policy a bit earlier.
• I figured out a ride. Miracles!
• I kept my mask ON for every bit of travel. No eating or drinking on planes, in airports or anywhere other people were breathing.
• I brought crutches even though the doctor said I wouldn’t need them. Spoiler alert: I needed them.
• I got a fancy-pants custom fit locking brace that I was supposed to need after surgery. I ended up packing that in my carryon for the way home.
• My tear was so crazy that the cartilage was folded up and over the wrong way, and I could not use the brace until weeks later. Instead, I was to be non-weight bearing, all crutches all the time. Oy.
• I got Uber Eats for the first time ever! (Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever having ordered food to be delivered even outside of Uber Eats. Probably I have in a group setting, but certainly not ordering it for myself or my family. So this was super-fancy to get vegan Thai food delivered to the curb as I waited outside Urgent Care.)
• I had an Uber driver who had a handicap placard. I asked him if that was for his clients or for him, and I learned he had lost a leg serving in Afghanistan. It’s amazing how lucky I suddenly felt to have my post-surgery pain and crutches.
• I got to be driven around the airport in one of those zippy carts. I got to stand on one leg for a full body pat-down at security. I got to fly First Class for the first time ever (it was a $30 upgrade) so I could stretch out my leg on the way back. I said “no” to freshly baked cookies, the plethora of proffered drinks, etc. because I was keeping that mask on!

I had a lovely surprise when Scott picked me up from the airport himself. It was like a hot date to ride all the way back from Portland just with him.

Christmas

Christmas came just the same, of course! The big surprise for the kids was a 12 ft swingset for the backyard. Also, we did matching jammies for the first time ever.

I simplified lots because I was stuck on the couch, Scott headed up all the food, and it was lovely.

Our favorite Christmas traditions include:

• “Waking up” our kids by caroling to them in their beds.
• Reading a special Christmas or winter picture book every day of December.
• Reading Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol aloud as a family. I think this was year 11.

For the first time ever, we sprang for matchy pajamas for our kids. Since they love twinning, this was a real treat.

Grandma and Grandpa Shenanigans

Instead of staying for one to two weeks as planned, my parents stayed a whole MONTH until I was able to bear some weight on my leg. It was tremendously helpful to have them here, but it was also just plain fun.

My dad jumped the kids on the trampoline almost daily, which is no easy job. They’re relentless!

They zipped up to the zoo one day, headed out hiking on several occasions, took countless dog walks around the neighborhood with the kids, and just kept things exciting enough around here so that I got plenty of couch time to recuperate.

My dad took beautiful photos and video of the kids, as he usually does:

He went on many mushroom hunts with the kids, looking for exotic looking ones to share with a group of enthusiasts online. Who knew there were so many specimens just on our street! Thanks, Oregon.

My kids put on a poetry teatime and invited my mom.

In other adventures, they bought no fewer than 8 different sets of dog shoes/socks/booties, which were each every bit as funny looking as they sound. Every variety imaginable was tested, and eventually a type was found that both protected our hardwood floors and allowed their sweet older dog to walk without slipping. I wish I had a photo handy of the ones that looked like purple balloons on his feet. They were ridiculous!

My dad filmed for his entertaining Plant Chompers YouTube channel and we guest-starred in several episodes, much to the delight of all involved.

He got his first thousand subscribers and we partied by buying avocado ice cream. #plantbased

It was an unusual, unforgettable and wonderful Christmas.