This year, Christmas started off at my mother in law’s newly operating Bed and Breakfast in Lynchburg, VA. I’ve mentioned before how calm and peaceful moments are with my in laws, especially compared to my Big Fat African Family. The morning started off pretty normal – Kids wake up and rush downstairs to find gifts from Santa. After opening all of her gifts, Leila exclaimed, “I’m so proud of Santa!” So, I guess that means he did a good job this year.
Next stop-my parent’s house…Here we go! I call the house to let them know we’re on the way and my dear grandmother (who let me add should never answer the phone) answers the phone. She proceeds to tell me that everyone is at the hospital. “What happened?” I asked. Mind you, my grandmother speaks in a strong Liberian accent, so sometimes it can be tough to follow. Here’s the basic translation:
“Dey at the hospital. Chadia’s legs. She was fixing the rug and it hurt her legs. The people (assuming the EMTs) came and they had to cut her legs. Dey at the hospital!”
WHAT THE…? Did she just say that my sister-the 17 year old pre-college athlete-lost her legs today? On Christmas morning? Omg! Panic sets in. I can barely finish the conversation. I just want to speak to my mom and have her tell me the story isn’t true.
And she does. Whew! Actual story: Chadia dislocated her knee doing some work around the house. They call the ambulance and get this…they tore her PANTS! I told my mom the story I had gotten and she concurred…my grandmother should never answer the phone!
They were out of the hospital by the time we got up there and managed to have a great holiday. The kids got absolutely spoiled as usual. In fact, on top of the new presents, my mom saw it fit to wrap up almost every toy she had around the house. After opening one of her presents, Leila exclaimed, ” I have this book at home too! Chick-Fil-A gave it to me.” Can’t get anything by her!
Love it! š