The cupboard was bare.

                                               

So with chronic illness, one has to find shortcuts and plans that whilst celebrating events, keeps the work involved to a minimum so we don't run out of spoons.

This Christmas, with the mother of all Fibromyalgia flares and hosts of painful ailments all vying for top position, my twin sister and I decided to buy KFC again this year, and make that our Christmas feast.

With her being a Fibromite with Lupus, we planned to buy it to eat as a family for our festive lunch. We had done it before and we found it just right. So the plan seemed sound.

However, it turned to dust as Chris and I travelled to my sister and son's house, looking up various KFC's on our phone. Each website showed it as being closed this Christmas Day! 

We called in to my elder son's home to wish them a Merry Christmas and exchange gifts, and I told them of our dilemma. Straight away, my daughter-in -law called my son to start carving up their enormous leg of ham.

She also gave us a large tray of pasta salad and a frozen dessert suitable for 4 people. They both saved the day for us.

Arriving at my younger son's and sister's, I was informed that her cupboard was bare. She also planned on KFC as our Christmas fare and hadn't anything else available. She was so relieved when Chris came in with the food from my other son. 

We ate lunch with great relish, exchanged gifts and hugs and took Holy Communion together. It was quite special and we enjoyed remembering Jesus's birthday.

Later on, I talked to my son and his partner and told them they had saved our Christmas. Faced with nothing to eat and an empty pantry, it made me think of Mother Hubbard and how she must have felt when the cupboard was bare.