There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays

The most serious of his problems occurred when he was just 2 days old.  He wasn’t eating well, and the hospital staff was very concerned.  Concern quickly turned into an emergency as his tiny new-born stomach ruptured spilling the contents of his stomach, including his digestive juices, into his system.  It was obvious by the demeanor of the medical staff that things were very dire. Before they whisked him off by Life Flight, they asked if I would like to have a picture of him.  To me that was asking if I wanted and final picture of my tiny newborn and I violently shook my head and said, “I will take it when I see him again.”  I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to my precious boy.

He survived the rare emergency surgery, but was touch and go in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for weeks.  There were many calls from the hospital warning us that he may not make it, and we would speed down to Danville, hoping we would arrive on time.  He was small, but against all odds he grew stronger and continued to heal.

On those many trips back and forth, there was a Christmas CD that I played to keep me company.  There was one song in particular that I would often place on repeat, its words soothing the longing in my heart to have my boy home.  The song was, “There is no place like home for the holidays.”  I would listen with tears streaming down my face, not unlike what is happening to me right now as I reminisce.

There was one particular verse that was dear to me, “Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays, ‘cause no matter how far away you roam If you want to be happy in a million ways, For the holidays you can’t beat home sweet home. As Christmas drew closer and closer, I watched the world around me prepare for the holiday, but not of the normal preparations seemed important to me.  Not the presents, not the decorations, not the food, the only thing that mattered was having my family all together for Christmas.

I was afraid my wish would not be granted, but sure enough my tough little guy grew stronger and in the beginning of December, he was discharged to go home at a month old, weighing a whopping 4 pounds, 6 ounces.  We were all going to be together for the holidays. Things were just as they should be.

The story, however, did not end there and he did end up back in the hospital on Christmas Eve and his first Christmas was spent in the hospital, but our story still had a happy ending.   Although he did require several other surgeries for a myriad of things, he went on to lead a happy, sports-filled life during his school years, completed college securing his master’s degree, graduating with honors.  Today he is married with two beautiful children and has spent the last several years working with those addicted to drugs and alcohol and just this summer opened his own private practice as a licensed counselor.

This experience taught me that life is precious, family is precious, and yes, holidays are precious.  A special time to stop what we are doing and take the time to appreciate our loved ones, give back to our communities, and listen, truly listen to the words of those familiar Christmas carols as they play, reminding us why it is the most wonderful time of the year.  As you celebrate Christmas with your loved ones this year, may the words of this familiar carol resound in your ears, reminding you what is the most important part of the holiday, those you love. “There’s no place like home for the holidays.”