by Becky Nunn

Created on: October 05, 2010

End of the World:  Alone on the 21st of December

 Reanna was watching the local news and listening to another story speculating as to whether the end of the word would occur on the 21st of this month, tomorrow she thought.  The newscaster was saying:  “Some experts believe the end to be a reality and other experts believe this is as crazy as the Y2K epidemic that swept the country in 1999”, not much I can do about it thought Reanna.  

 Her kids were grown and lived across the United States:  Ethan a 30-year-old lawyer lived in Washington State; he has 3 children and a wife who is a Nurse Practitioner at the local hospital.  Ella a 28-year-old wife to a high school teacher lives in Georgia and has 1 child.  Both kids are concerned about traveling home to be with Reanna during the Christmas season, as is the usual tradition. 

 Yesterday, Ella had urged Reanna not to put up the Christmas decorations, “Mom that is so much work for just you to enjoy”, why put yourself through that?”  After listening to the predictions once again on the television, Reanna jumped up out of her chair and said to no one in particular “The heck with it, I’m putting up the decorations come doomsday or not.”  So all yesterday, she dragged boxes out of the garage and put out the familiar old decorations and made the house look festive.  Exhausted she had piled the last empty box into the garage around 8:00 pm.  After pouring herself a glass of white wine, she'd turned on the lights on the Christmas tree and sat in the glowing living room enjoying the decorations, remembering happier times in this old house when Robert was still alive and the kids were still living at home.  Grabbing the photo albums, she'd looked at photos of long-ago Christmases and laughed when she saw the photo of Robert in his “reindeer” underwear that the kids gave him in 1993.  She remembered how the kids had roared with laughter when Robert put on the underwear on top of his pajamas and danced around the living room singing “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer”.  Robert had passed away in 2006 from a heart attack and she missed him everyday.  “My dear, Robert, I wonder what you think about all this fuss about the end of the world?”  She'd gone to bed yesterday exhausted.

 This morning she arose early and decided to go to Kroger’s

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