Chronicles of
Dear Readers,
Any rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! As many of you have heard, I did have a rather unfortunate calamity the day before Thanksgiving involving a somewhat heavy and rebellious corner China cabinet that decided to tip forward and take me along to the floor with it. Praise the Lord, it veered slightly to the right and I to the left. Rhett slept through the crash and I had to yell to the top of my lungs to be rescued. Yes, it could have been much worse than it was. Thankfully, I did not break any bones or herniate any discs. Only suffered a very severe muscle strain.
Needless to say, Rhett had to take over all the entertaining responsibilities, including smoking the turkey and mopping the kitchen floor. He performed all with grace and ease, while I missed Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in my remembered history. I was just not up to eating my favorite meal of the year.
I took to my bed with a flannel night gown and a heating pad that providentially, I had purchased earlier the same week. It only had one setting and I wondered if one could even find one of those old red hot water bottles, I remembered from childhood. We just made do with the one we had. I discovered that dear Rhett was a very good and compassionate caregiver. He tended my every need and encouraged me literally every step of the way.
I have said it before and I say it again, you find out who your true friends are, when you are ill or otherwise indisposed as I have been for well over a month now. Neighbors, relatives and friends from church called frequently to check on me. There were calls made to bring over that famous southern cure all, casseroles! Offers were made to do shopping and various other chores on a nearly daily basis. I had invited my daughter and her two Corgis, Captain and Calliope, to come from South Carolina for Christmas and there I was, barely able to move around, much less decorate, cook or shop for Christmas presents. The house was a wreck in spite of Rhett’s diligent best efforts.
One dear friend said she wasn’t much of a cook, but she could clean! I swallowed my pride and took her up on her offer in a New York minute. She came over one morning around 10 and went right to work. She moved chairs in the dining room and vacuumed UNDER the table (something I do only if I can see crumbs)! She dusted and cleaned for well over two hours. I was so grateful. In no time she had Tara looking it’s holiday best. What a tender gift to me! There was a lovely bonus gift. We got to know each other on a much deeper level as I followed her from room to room. We shed a few tears and had a hug when she was ready to leave, much closer than when she came that morning. Sometimes, I forget that I cannot do everything perfectly and need to embrace genuine acts of kindness when they are offered. Hope that all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did here at Tara. Blessings for 2025. Sincerely,
Scarlett
Please send your questions to Scarlett at: [email protected] or through postal mail to: Scarlett O’Dara, 902 Elizabeth St., Waycross, GA 31503.
