Christmas Eve

Away in a Manger

music by Bob Chilcott, and performed by 

The BYU Concert Choir

and

Silent Night

performed by Haley Westentra

What a time we've had these past few days...  and I'm happy and relieved to report that (knock shattered, ice-encrusted wood) the worst would seem to be over.  The tummy bug seems to have been conquered, the most destructive ice storm ever to his this part of Ontario has finally abated, and late last night, the lights and heat finally came back on at my house.  

I can't begin to tell you how grateful I felt to be safely holed up in my parents' place with my three kids during that time, or how relieved I was when I knew that our beloved critters had been evacuated from the cold and the dark, and were being cared for by good friends.  When we finally were able to get back home late this morning, most of the roads had been cleared, and a remarkable amount of work had already begun to clean up what remained of the beautiful old trees in my neighbourhood.

We've been remarkably blessed to be cared for by the good, hard-working people at Powerstream.  Those ladies and gents have been working around the clock since the sleet hit the fan, so to speak.  The company kept in touch with us all by Twitter, and constantly reassured us that help was on the way.  The Twitter-feed from the past few days pretty much sums up the story for you.  The very best parts have been the huge THANK YOUS that customers have posted, one even describing how when the lights on her street finally went back on last night, a lusty cheer erupted from the entire neighbourhood.  Folks stepped out onto their doorsteps to applaud as eight Powerstream trucks rolled down the street, on their way to help another cold, dark pocket of our town.

As Child Number One said yesterday, this is the kind of thing that Christmas is all about: people helping one another.  For us this year, the ice was a cold, hard reminder that it's not about the "stuff".  

Stay warm, everybody.  Hugs all around.

Merry Christmas.