I love the Thanksgiving tradition-the gatherings, expressions of gratitude for the sweetness of life and the shared feast-but I especially love the indulgence of a full day, or several days, of cooking, eating until I nearly pop, and knowing that there are leftovers galore to lead to turkey sandwiches, tetrazzini, hash, soup....there's a full-fridge factor that is deeply satisfying, and which I haven't had on the official day in a few years. Last year it was my health, this year it's my mom's, and the drive to do the dinner overwhelmed me when I saw a likely looking little turkey while out grocery shopping last week. So around here, in addition to the lovely day we spent joining the W family the evening after I returned from L.A., it was the 1st Saturday of December serving as Thanksgiving as well as the 4th Thursday of November.
It was a lovely warm day around 60 degrees, and I took Mom in her wheelchair out into the garden at the Courtyard where she is living. We sat in the sun for awhile and listened to the numerous bird songs providing the soundtrack. She seems less agitated by her situation over the last several days than she had back in L.A.; I hope that's an accurate impression, as there is no way to be sure from what she tells me that I'm getting it right. But she smiles a lot, and the ladies in her unit who share a table in the common room seem friendly. At the moment, it looks like she'll have to stay in skilled nursing for the foreseeable future as she is seeming less and less able to move independently. I'm trying to get a neurological workup scheduled for her, and she has one with an independent group scheduled for January, but I'm trying to get her in at Vanderbilt. Still many phone calls to make and papers to fax. The tasks are never ending, but the doing of them is less daunting with her nearby and having the opportunity to observe what is occurring.
It always seems like a crazy idea to make a whole holiday turkey dinner for two (I've done it before!), but although it was just the 2 of us tonight, I'll bring a plate to my mom tomorrow. Just a little something to share the season in a personal way. There's no way I can have her come to my home with the level of debilitation she's reached, and I'm trying not to give up hope that this can change for the better, but I'm not seeing any signs of it so far. So we do what we can do, and a picnic basket of home made holiday meal is within our power.
It was a lovely warm day around 60 degrees, and I took Mom in her wheelchair out into the garden at the Courtyard where she is living. We sat in the sun for awhile and listened to the numerous bird songs providing the soundtrack. She seems less agitated by her situation over the last several days than she had back in L.A.; I hope that's an accurate impression, as there is no way to be sure from what she tells me that I'm getting it right. But she smiles a lot, and the ladies in her unit who share a table in the common room seem friendly. At the moment, it looks like she'll have to stay in skilled nursing for the foreseeable future as she is seeming less and less able to move independently. I'm trying to get a neurological workup scheduled for her, and she has one with an independent group scheduled for January, but I'm trying to get her in at Vanderbilt. Still many phone calls to make and papers to fax. The tasks are never ending, but the doing of them is less daunting with her nearby and having the opportunity to observe what is occurring.
It always seems like a crazy idea to make a whole holiday turkey dinner for two (I've done it before!), but although it was just the 2 of us tonight, I'll bring a plate to my mom tomorrow. Just a little something to share the season in a personal way. There's no way I can have her come to my home with the level of debilitation she's reached, and I'm trying not to give up hope that this can change for the better, but I'm not seeing any signs of it so far. So we do what we can do, and a picnic basket of home made holiday meal is within our power.
