But only barely. Christmas was great. It started on Wednesday. Our friend Kim came over and Kim, Zoe and I spent the afternoon in a gift wrapping frenzy. We finished at 4:00 just when my oldest, Jenny, and her family, William, Evan, and Robyn, arrived. They came up from Colorado the day before. We hadn't seen them since the end of July when William came back from Iraq. Thursday night Kim and Doug came over for a rare evening of socializing and a rousing game of King's Cribbage. King's Cribbage is a cross between cribbage and Scrabble. Fortunately Zoe beat me. Friday night my youngest daughter Katie had a housewarming in her new house. Jenny and William were staying with her and several cousins showed up. A good time but Zoe and Gerry are getting tired. Early Saturday evening, Christmas Eve, Jenny and William, with kids Evan and Robyn, as well as Katie with her little boy Mike showed up to exchange gifts. Two hours of opening presents, snacking, and visiting. By now we are all getting tired. Sunday morning we are out the door by 9:00am to catch the ferry to get to my brother's by 11:00 for Christmas. My whole family is there from my mother, my siblings, my children and assorted nieces, nephews, spouses, and children. This is not a shy and retiring crowd. Exchange gifts and eat food with more than average merriment. By now Zoe, Gerry, and I are zombies. Monday my son Robby and his girlfriend Hannah came over to exchange gifts and visit. He had to work Saturday and couldn't join us then. By the time they left we were exhausted. Zoe started coming down with a cold, Gerry's lungs were not doing well, nor were mine. But it was worth it.

From Monday till today the three of us have been sick. Last night we had a caregiver over to put Gerry to bed. Gerry is fearful of being alone in her room at night. It really freaks her out. We got her to agree to have a caregiver over to be with her so she isn't alone. In the middle of all this, last night, Zoe is trying to figure out which Medicare prescription plan to sign Gerry up for. We had to sign her up by midnight. She was on the phone from 2pm till around 10. It was a nightmare. She got some information on line and we both tried to make sense of it and we both were exhausted and not feeling well at all. By then Carol, the caregiver, had Gerry down and was able to help us try to figure it out. It all sort of became a moot point when she told us that when we put Gerry into a home the home will put her on whatever plan they use. Since that is probaly going to happen within the next month it didn't make a whole lot of difference. Zoe decided on a plan and she had Gerry enrolled with minutes to spare.

This morning I was really dragged out and slept most of the day. Sleep is wonderfully restorative when you can get it. Carol came back tonight and that went well. Having someone come in the evenings will give us a big break. Maybe we could actually go see a movie!