December 12 – “Mining report”

Well, the dreaded day finally came.  No, it wasn’t the heart cath.  That’s not until next week.  And now that she knows a bit about what to expect, Chris is not quite as worried about it.  But yesterday was the day for her “Brain Biopsy,” the “Mining Excursion” – a.k.a. The COVID TEST.  That’s the one where they cram the eight-inch-long Q-tip up your nose and dig around in there for ten seconds.  Quite the mining operation according to her.  And from the sounds of things, Josh had one just as invasive.  He called from the waiting room in Waco where he was in great anticipation for his first of the Brain Biopsy type test.  He’s had a spit test here and a cheek swab there, but never one of these simple nasal scrubs.  I assured him, as I do Chris each time, that the one I took was nothing but a little tickle.  She has yet to believe me.  And now I guess Josh has joined her camp.  The subsequent texts we received from him indicated he was less than supportive of the procedure.  Bottom line, however … both of them came up negative for the virus, so there’s that.  Oh, and Chris had to have some blood work drawn as well, so I suppose she wins the pity party battle with Josh this time. 

 

On the way home we stopped in at Target for a little Christmas shopping.  Chris is on a mission to get a present for everyone on our list before her procedure on Tuesday.  I think it was a pretty productive excursion, too.  There were still a few holes here and there, but she reached her limit and we headed home to get some lunch and rest a while.

 

Last night I went to the fire department administration Christmas party.  Mexican food dinner at The Original, probably Galveston’s finest.  And Chris, the Mexican food lover, had to stay home, away from people.  I had my usual order at a Mexican food joint – beef quesadillas.  Good stuff.  Lots of vegetables mixed in there with the meat and cheese.  Healthy meal, for sure.  We also did a white elephant gift exchange.  This time everyone chose a gift by the numbers drawn, as you might expect.  But no one was allowed to open the gift.  You could steal one of the unopened gifts if you wanted to, up to two changes of hands.  And at the very end, a few numbers were assigned to switch with each other.  Then, if both spouses had a gift, they had to switch with each other.  Finally, you could open your gift.  I think it was all a ruse designed to get the chief the gag gift he ended up with.  Pretty funny stuff.  I ended up with a bag of scratch-off lottery tickets.  I think I won $4.00, but I’m not sure how that works.  We have never spent our money on a lottery ticket – not enough disposable income, I suppose.  Where do I go to collect my massive winnings, anyway? 

 

Luke 12:40 says, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

 

Father, please be with the admin staff of the fire department.  Help them in the decisions they have to make, especially in learning to deal with a new city council.  Amen.