Christmas Experience: Cross Stitch

Two years ago I had to undergo major surgery for a disc problem in my back. I needed to be hospitalized for several days and could not return to my job for ten weeks. When the surgery was initially scheduled I was given a two month waiting period. I was not looking forward to having two months to think about the procedure. About ten days after I had scheduled the surgery the surgeon’s office called me to let me know that there had been a cancellation and that I could have surgery in two days. I was able to clear my schedule and took the time slot.

It was great that I did not have the anxiety of waiting and the rush to get prepared helped me not to get overly nervous. The only bad thing about the time is that the ten weeks that I would be out of commission were the ten weeks prior to Christmas. I did not have any Christmas shopping done. I mentioned this to my mother the night before I had the surgery. In order to help me ease my mind about holiday shopping she brought me several Christmas cross stitch projects to work on. She stamped a set of six cloth napkins with a pattern that would look very nice with my sister Christmas china. Another Christmas cross stitch project was a wall hanging that could be stretched and framed. The wall hanging was a winter scene. My favorite Christmas cross stitch that she brought me was a set of dish towels that featured the twelve days of Christmas. My mother knew that I did not like being confined to bed and chairs, so she thought the Christmas cross stitch projects would help occupy my time and also provide gifts to family members as well as friends.

Once I was home from the hospital I started on the cloth napkins. I found that I enjoyed doing the needle work. I was soon able to complete the needle work while I watched television. The projects were detailed enough to keep me interested, yet small enough so I was able to complete them in short periods of time. Once I had been recuperating for four weeks my doctor stated that I could take short driving trips. My first trip was to go to a fabric store to get additional ideas for hand made gifts. They had several other Christmas cross stitch project to choose from. I picked up three more projects to give to friends. My back healed quickly and I was able to keep my mind and hands occupied with the Christmas cross stitch projects. My back healed well and I was back to work for the beginning of the New Year.