BLOGWORDS – Monday 3 April 2023– BOOK LAUNCH EVENT – GUEST POST – MELISSA WARDWELL
I am excited to have author and friend, Melissa Wardwell on the blog to kick off my book launch blog blitz. Welcome, Melissa.
When our children are young, we go above and beyond to make sure that everything is perfect. Especially at Christmas and in a new home.
In 2012, our family had to move into a new home after spending nine years in our first house. We bought that house in 2007 when our boys were two years old and six months old and our daughter wasn’t even a thought. There were so many memories that had taken place in those nine years. Our daughter’s birth, the several fun birthday parties, homeschooling our children, and the constant open-door policy we had with the neighbor boys across the street. Moving was a choice we were forced to make at the time and many tears were shed. The kids struggled quite a bit with the change.
For our first Christmas in the new house, we made plans to have a family gathering for my husband’s side of the family. We’d been meeting at a local bar for years and we were finding it less friendly as our kids grew up. Plus, the kitchen, dining, and living areas were larger than in the previous house, making it possible to host gatherings at last.
The week of Christmas, the kids and I spent days making our Christmas goodies of cookies and candies. We cleaned the house from floor to ceiling and made sure there would be plenty of seating for everyone. We even had games ready for a little fun instead of just chatting mindlessly.
Two days before the gathering, the rumored icy weather looked to be heading to Michigan though we were unsure how bad it would be. But our house was tight and our cupboards and refrigerator were full. We chatted with the family that was set to come over that Sunday and they were eager to gather, especially since the last time we had seen one another was the summer after my husband’s grandmother passed away.
Sunday, December 22nd came along and everything changed.
I woke that morning with the sound of sleet hitting my bedroom window and the wind howling. Choosing to live in a little bit of denial, I didn’t turn on the television to watch the news. If they were going to give me a bad report, I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted the day to be perfect for the kids and my husband, who had missed his family quite a bit. Sadly, as soon as I exited the bathroom, my husband was perched on the edge of his chair with his eyes affixed to the radar on the television and the state of Michigan covered in shades of blue. Without looking at me, he informed me that church was canceled as the building had no power and the road conditions were worsening.
We texted the family and let them know that if they still planned to brave the weather, we had plenty of food. At first, the more local ones said they would still be there. The ones coming from up north informed up that there was no way they could make it. Within a couple of hours, the lights on the tree went out and the microwave beeped at its sudden lack of power. My husband and I waited for the power to flicker back on, but after fifteen minutes, it still hadn’t so we had to cancel the gathering.
But that is where the blessing began.
That night, we all went to bed, hoping that when we woke in the morning that the power would be back on. So, we tucked everyone in bed, tossed a couple of extra blankets on each kid’s bed in case they needed it, and prayed for protection. I cannot say our prayers were answered in the way we wanted but in another way. My mother called me in the morning to see if we had power and when I told her that we did not, she informed me that my grandmother and aunt who lived a block away, did and were inviting everyone over. Since my husband was at work, we packed up our chihuahuas and spent the day over there. When my husband got home from work, the power was still not on and the house was down to sixty-two degrees. He hung blankets on the windows and created nests for the two cats on the couches before running a HOT shower and using the steam to bring the air temperature up a couple of degrees before coming over to my grandma’s.
That night, surrounded by family, we had a wonderful dinner together, the kids played Skip-Bo with their great grandma, and the kids and I even stayed the night while my husband went home to sleep before work the next day. My daughter had the best sleeping arrangement of all. She’d had so much fun playing games with her GB that she asked if she could sleep with GB. Of course, GB let her while I slept on the couch and the boys slept on the floor on mats.
The next morning, still no power at home, and it wasn’t expected to come on until almost a week after Christmas but a problem was looming. Grandma was getting anxious with all the people in her house (she had dementia) and she needed a break. This meant we needed to go home and sleep in a sixty-degree house or find another place to sleep.
That’s when our next blessing came.
While the kids and I were still at my grandma’s, my aunt on my dad’s side went to our house, picked up the kids’ gifts, and snuck them over to their house after inviting us to stay there Christmas Eve.
A couple of days after Christmas, the power came back on and we went home after spending another couple of nights at my grandma’s. To this day, it is the most terrifying and most blessed Christmas we’ve ever had because our who family saw how God’s hand was on us. He took something bad and turned it around for good, giving us a memory we will talk about for years.
THE AUTHOR
Melissa Wardwell resides in Owosso, Michigan with her husband and family. As the “nest” begins to empty, she finds more time to write, read, and enjoy life with her husband.
When she isn’t penning works of fiction, she actively works beside her husband at their church or relaxes with a good book that will be reviewed on her book blog, Back Porch Reads.
To see more from Melissa Wardwell, visit www.melissawardwell.com
GIVEAWAYMs. Wardwell is offering a $10 Amazon gift card.
Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway will begin at midnight on Monday 3 April and end at 11:59 on Monday 10 April. *All times are Eastern Time Zone, USA. Giveaway is subject to the policies found on Robin’s Nest.
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