Grandma's MMA Christmas

For a while I did not think I would see this Christmas. I began feeling better two days ago, but very weak. Because I am the "Christmas brain" in the family, my husband did not shop until I made a list today.

This afternoon, I began wrapping presents in my chair. As the day went on, I had to move to my bed to finish the job.

Unlike the years of my youth, wrapping presents is no longer one of my proudest accomplishments. Hands that feel like they are wearing mittens, due to the numbness of MS are not conducive to beautifully wrapped presents.

I now have paper cuts, places where I accidentally gouged myself trying to untangle curling ribbon wrapped inadvertently around my pen and sharp scissors, and an assortment of bruises on my thighs where I held heavy packages while wrapping them.

My deceased friend Janet used to attempt to help me wrap presents, because "I made it look like so much fun." My fingers were long and slender then with long manicured nails, and I did feel very elegant and graceful as I decorated each present festively.

What a change, now.

As I wrap I ponder MMA-related subjects, my favorite musings.

I read that Georges St. Pierre won "The Canadian Athlete of the Year", and think how proud he, his family, and lovely manager Shari Spencer must be!

His many fans are certainly elated at this magnificent honor, especially since most of Canada does not enjoy sanctioned MMA events at this point in time; still, he received a very high percentage of the votes. That in itself is amazing.

My mind explores the possibilities of whether Georges can wrap the Christmas presents he purchases, or if like my guys, he imposes on sales ladies to gift wrap them while feigning complete helplessness, and batting his beautiful blue eyes (all of my guys have beautiful blue eyes, but little else in common with Georges).

Remembering how jolly Rampage used to be, I wonder if he dresses up like Santa for his children. I hope he is done fasting and has enough room for Christmas ham, what with the fight just a few days away. Ham is so salty and can cause water retention. Hopefully, he and his fellow fighters lost enough weight previously to account for that.

I wonder if my Facebook friend Rashad Evans will post a Christmas picture of his new daughter, so we all can see how cute she is on her first Christmas? What a truly fortunate man he is! Children of any age make the season so special.

Does it snow in any part of Brazil?

Do they make snowmen out of sand?

Anderson Silva and Rodrigo Minatauro Nogueira are so childlike when they are happy, that I have to wonder what their Christmas tradition involves. I envy their children, due to their enthusiasm and family pride. I bet playing with the kids and their toys is a hilarious occasion.

Hawaiian Christmas probably involves a cooked pig and a big feed with lots of fruit and poi. I can only imagine, since I have never been there. All of their feasts are very colorful, so I am sure that BJ Penn is happy to have extra time to be in fighting shape for his January 31, 2009, meeting with Georges St. Pierre.

I have been comparing Peoria, Illinois's daily temperatures with those of Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Remarkably, they have been very similar this winter and we currently have a lot of snow and icy conditions. Still, I am wondering how their traditional celebrations differ from the States. Sledding, snowmen, snowshoes and skis?

Our horses are so lucky that my husband never allowed me to buy the sleigh I wanted to when we were first married. He is right, though, that too many years have been Midwest green with little snowfall, unlike the year of 1979 when the snow at roadside was above our heads and our indoor riding arena roof collapsed under the weight of the snow, putting us out of the boarding business. Thank God for our four-wheel drive Ford truck!

While recuperating, I read my Grappling, Fight!, Black Belt and other magazines and read as many articles on B/R and the Web as I could. I remember one fighter mentioning that he was "snowbound," which would seem frightening to me, even though I am agoraphobic and hate to leave my house. I hope that whoever he is, he gets out by Christmas.

We are lucky to be included in my youngest son's ex-mother-in-law's Christmas and can see our grandchildren open their packages and eat a great meal with them.

Karen is very generous and also good natured about spills, which is helpful for me and the kids.

It certainly is less tense and humiliating than being in a restaurant and being unable to lift my glass or plate and juggling the heavy silverware—at home I eat on light paper plates and use plastic utensils; like the kids, my glasses have straws and lids to prevent accidents.

My 89-year old mother will be unable to join us because her fiance of over 15 years, who is 97, is not well enough to leave the nursing home for the 90-mile trip to Clinton.

Mom is the most generous person I know and taught me the joy of giving very early when I helped her purchase and then wrap nice outfits for her students at a local junior high school. The faculty raised funds and tried to see that each impoverished student received a beautiful gift of clothes for Christmas. That is where I learned to wrap all sized boxes and put special decorations on them. I loved helping her make everything so special for "her kids."

So in the end, I hope that every MMA fan gets a nice new MMA shirt for Christmas or tickets to UFC 92, 93, or 94. What great fights to look forward to after Christmas!

My grandson Cody is getting MMA shirts and a beautiful UFC hooded sweatshirt, "Got Rush-GSP shirt," "Jesus Didn't Tap," a UFC 94 GSP vs. Penn shirt (my favorite, of course), and about nine other shirts from new companies he probably hasn't even heard of yet.

(Cody has been so busy with school and wrestling that he will never think to read this, so the surprised is safe, I hope.)

To all of the fighters in all countries and different organizations, and all of the Bleacher Creatures out there who may take the time to read my musings, I wish you the very best Christmas and a Happy December 27, UFC 92 event!

Love to everyone! Happy Holidays!

***I forgot to thank Sierra (9) and Trevor (4) who appear in the article picture with me. Since we don't have a tree, they constructed one three feet tall using tin foil and a huge yellow construction paper star, as well as "decorating" the house and our dog Misty (a very tolerant Akita who does not like carrying curled ribbons in her curled tail). Their decorating made the house more seasonal and gave Grandma Dee the time to wrap their presents in privacy. Thanks Christmas Elves!