Christmas 2021....not the Christmas I expected

Christmas has been my favorite holiday ever since my early childhood. I go all out with decorations, keeping my Hungarian traditions, baking and producing special meals.

One of the drawbacks of living in Grenada is the absence of family. Zoom has helped to at least be able to visit electronically.

Christmas this year promised to be no different. Traditional fruit cake was done. On Friday the 3rd, friends and I did our usual walk and swim at Grand Anse Beach, then coffee and treats at our favorite pastry shop.

As my friend was driving me home, I started sneezing, wondering if it would turn into a cold. By mid-afternoon, it had, with drippy nose and watery eyes. Oh bummer, I thought. Bummer indeed. By Sunday afternoon I ended up in the hospital intensive care unit, where I spent a day. Two covid tests were negative, I was stabilized and spent the next five days in hospital. Turns out I had contracted a bacterial infection in my lungs. Fortunately, I am now fully recovered.

However, I now had just one week to prepare for Christmas and the arrival of friends with their three children. No time to bake any more traditional goodies, and with no time to put up the 7-foot tree, the small one had to do. Mad rush to make sure our downstairs apartment was clean and ready for their arrival, including some food, beverages, coffee, etc. As well as shopping for our own Christmas dinner. I really pushed my limits but other than feeling exhausted, I didn’t suffer any ill effects.

All was ready to receive our friends when a message came that their youngest tested positive for Covid, trip cancelled. All of us were really disappointed but this is life in the time of Covid. Of course, now we have to eat all the extra food 😊 By now, much of the Christmas spirit had left us.

We did manage to get together with friends for a pre-holiday party, which cheered us all, as everyone was moping around.