Christmas Memories: Too Sick to Enjoy

Christmas was.....almost normal. It was sometime during the day Dec. 23 that I began feeling a little "off". Surely, all would be well by morning. Not to be. Throughout the day, I felt more and more rotten. Lying on the sofa by the Christmas tree, I tried to capture the special feelings that came every Christmas eve. But bed felt best. Too sick to help set the tables, my fever continued to climb.. The house began to fill up with people, food, and noise. I tried to join, but ended up lying on Mom and Dad's bed in the dark downstairs bedroom. Unable to participate, I could hear the sounds, smell the food and picture the scene. It was so lonely. I was offered food, everything from dessert to crackers. Nothing was appealing. When it came time for the presents, I moved to a chair and managed to open my gifts. I took them upstairs to the room that wasn't as clean or organized this year. As I laid the gifts on my desk, I looked at my bed and immediately crawled in. Sometime during the evening someone took my temperature and I heard something about how high it was. I heard that dad was worried and said that if I wasn't better in the morning we would have to find a doctor. I was too sick to care and fell into a deep sleep. I never went to the doctor; my fever broke before morning. I had all Christmas vacation to recuperate, but always felt a little cheated out of a special Christmas Eve celebration. I was sure of it....next year would be better.