Christmas with my mother

In the Netherlands, you get two days of Christmas! I had spent the first day of Christmas with my sister, and would spend the second day with my mother. I got in and I had to confess that I couldn't speak. That was a bit annoying! My mother used to have acute hearing (both my sisters inherited that) but age is taking its toll, and now sometimes she struggles to hear me even if my voice is totally normal. But we made the most of it!

It was a beautiful day, and I suggested we go for a little walk. And my mother agreed. We went to the supermarket for some wine; a worthy mission!

Some of the afternoon we just spent at the table by the window, each doing our own reading. Talking was difficult! And sometimes just being in each other's company is good enough. I made excellent progress in the Pumed Gainc. 

Later in the afternoon, her friend Mieke joined us, to drink that wine we had bought. It is always good to see her! It would've been better if I would've been able to speak, but you can't have it all. It was a lovely Christmas session.

When she left I had some soup, and not an awful lot later it was bedtime. I was hoping I would wake up being able to speak!

The next morning I did what is sort of become my routine; I do my morning exercises, have a shower, put the kettle on, and wake up my mum. And I could talk to her this time! Success! It was a relief. I'm sure we would have said a lot more if I could have done that the previous day as well, but you make do with what you have. I was grateful for these few hours.

Morning over Amersfoort 

After breakfast I briefly went into town; my mother had wanted to knit me a jumper, and I had only got her one colour of wool. Firstly she thought maybe the wool wasn't enough for the jumper, and secondly she thought it might be a bit more interesting with more than one colour, so she sent me back to the wool shop. But it was closed! At least the weather was absolutely gorgeous. And Amersfoort is a stunningly beautiful town.

I also made sandwiches for my trip back. I had to leave shortly after lunchtime! I had received an email saying the airport would be extra busy, and I needed extra time. And I didn't want to rush. So it was time to kiss my mother goodbye again and head back to the cat!

The trip back went unbelievably smooth! The train was on time, both passport control and security were a doddle, and the plane was on time. The roads were not clogged. The weather was a bit of a contrast with the Netherlands; it was bucketing down, which made driving a bit challenging. But I got home without incident. And I could finally cuddle the cat again! That was the most important bit.

It wasn't my best Christmas trip because of my imperfect health, but I still felt like I had had some quality time with important people! And that matters. And now I was back, and was already staring the new year into the face!