Christine’s Days Before Christmas

This was a special version of The Night Before Christmas written for Christine Tyndall in 1998. Christine and her family were good friends of ours at Webb Chapel.

Christine became very sick and spent several months in the hospital, including the Christmas season of 1998. To cheer her up, my mom and some folks worked together to send her Christmas greetings in the form of a video. This poem was included in that video.

There are several inside references that folks who weren't close to the situation may not understand. Nevertheless, the spirit of the poem is true regardless of who you are.

Christine’s Days Before Christmas

Twas days before Christmas in room 616
Not a creature was stirring, not even Christine
I-V bags were hung by the bedside with care
And the beanie babes all sat with blank-looking stares

Mrs. T was all nestled, all snug in her "bed"
With a strap on her feet and two arms at the head
But no one wore a 'kerchief, and no one wore a cap
So please forgive the author and don't think it a mishap

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter
Mother T tripped on the strap to see what was the matter
Half-hanging from the bed, laying more so on the floor
Poor Mother Tyndall finally made it to the door

The moon on the breast...wait, there's no moon in the hall
And there's no mid-day luster, just the nurses on call
But what of the clatter that just resonated?
A vase of osiana roses had just been terminated

So back to the chair Mother Tyndall withdrew
And she popped in a CD that Christine surely knew
More rapid than eagles, thoughts filled Christine's mind
Cuz she's not up to talking much of the time

She thought of gall bladder and appendix now gone
But more importantly, special ice, for which she now longs
More poking and prodding than she could remember
Might dampen anyone's hopes for a jolly December

And then, in a twinkling, it became really quite clear
That Christmas, in fact, was still coming this year
The tubes and the monitors and the surgery --- such woe
What's worse? All them Texans have to deal with no snow!

Yet true holiday spirit's not found in a tree
Or in holly, poinsettias, or lights on a string
The treasures of the season are the memories one holds
Of family and friends and love greater than gold

It rests not in paper, shiny ribbons and bows
But in hopes of a glimpse of a deer with red nose
So listen, dear Christine, to these words as they are said
Cuz they've all been inspired by the jolly beard in red

"You see, it really doesn't matter if you're home in your house
Or whether any creature's stirring --- including the mouse
Just be certain to hang that ole' stocking with care
For you can be sure that I'll soon be right there"

And if, in your dreams, you hear prancing and pawing
You'll know in your heart reindeer do come a calling
For the secret of Christmas matters not on your bed
But whether those sugarplums dance in your head