HE WAS HERE CHRISTMAS EVE!!


I've been having a terrible December aided by the elevator in our building breaking down 27 out of the last 30 days! I had no problem walking downstairs but with PAD (https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/condition/peripheral-arterial-disease/hp-peripheral-arterial-disease?source=bing_condition) in the right leg, COPD https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679 (60 years of smoking 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day) neurathapy in the right leg, blood clogs at the top of both thighs and an 'accident' toe---don't ask--I don't know--walking up a flight, let alone, 3 flights of stairs, is not something you do once a day let alone 3-4 times plus carrying bags of 'stuff'. Heck, you didn't even go downstairs to see if you got mail or to mail bills because you can't walk upstairs!

A few days before Christmas I got a text mail from Emir that he was visiting his Mom and, like last year, he wanted to take me out for a Christmas Eve Day dinner. Now for you non-believers, that is THE busy time for the elves, Mrs. and Mr. Santa to wrap a lot of the gifts and load the sled and check the weather along with broken elevators, no chimneys and other things that could make the trip around the world more arduous than just making it in a few hours--time change or not!
To make a much longer story shorter when Santa called me--you call him Santa--I call him

Emir--Saturday afternoon I explained to him--sure! Like he would understand traveling in a sleigh, leading deer, delivering all sorts of toys--that along with everything else I ran out of energy after being up 2 hours doing nothing that maybe we should get together Thursday or Friday for a light lunch meal. He countered by stopping for a short time Sunday evening and I knew he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer so I said 'Okay, but don't be surprised if I fell asleep while we talked!" (If THAT had been the worst thing I had done!)
He called at 5:30 PM and said he was on the way sounding like he hadn't spent the afternoon wrapping gifts and when he arrived he looked so fresh and happy you knew he had a secret--HE WAS DOING GOOD!
He handed me a OUTBACK restaurant shopping bag and in it there was a sirloin steak and coconut shrimp, fresh asparagus, a 'loaded' baked potato, a dark bread hero, sauces, sour cream, butter and 2 pieces of carrot cake!! AND OMG! A DOZEN RED ROSES!! (Which I spread around the room!)

He left shortly after and what do you say to a Santa Claus who gives you his piece of carrot cake? Left me speechless! But WAIT!!!! How stupid could I have been and how do I ever make up for it?? Santa bought 2 of everything and how could I not realize until later that he was eating his on the sleigh--eating a steak in front of the reindeer!
I did something rare for me--I spread a dinner over three nights--and I will spread MY Santa Claus over the rest of my life--moments, gestures, thoughts and feelings--I am so glad we met in 1980 even if I (may) have messed up! :O)