Be Thankful For Your Health

As far as I am concerned Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving has nothing on us.  Last week my mother called me and told me she was canceling Thanksgiving.  Those were her exact words, “I’m canceling Thanksgiving.”  I asked her if she had the power to do that, cancel Thanksgiving as an actual event, and she said that she was canceling having people to her house for Thanksgiving.

See my Dad had been sick for the two previous weeks and since he is the cook in the house my mother feared that he might still be sick on Thanksgiving and then what would happen.  Turns out my poor father had C.Diff a very strong bacterial bug that wrecks your digestive system.

The day my mother changed our long standing trip to the farm for turkey day and the day after farm frolicking with friends I was up to my eye balls with meetings.  I could not handle the thought of cooking Thanksgiving for three of us so I called out club and made reservations.  That night my mother called back and said she thought she could come to our house for Thanksgiving.   I added another place at our reservation.

Telling Russ and Carter we were going to eat Thanksgiving out was met with huge despair.  “What, no leftovers,” they said practically in unison.  “Fine,” I replied,  “I will also cook some “leftovers.”

The next day my mother e-mailed and said my father was feeling better and might be able to also come for Thanksgiving.  Another call to the club to add one more.  I did not consider broaching the subject of my bringing the whole Thanksgiving meal to the farm and just going ahead and uncanceling our regular tradition.  Two days later another e-mail – Dad’s still not good, he won’t be coming.

So yesterday I brined a turkey breast, made stewed tomatoes and this morning I made stuffing and a pecan pie.  Most of these things I am trying to avoid.  As I was finishing up my leftover cooking the phone rang.  It was my mother calling.  “I can’t come to Thanksgiving.  I have the same thing your father has.”  Now I have reservations for five and a whole extra Thanksgiving cooked in the kitchen and two regular eaters and me who really should only have a little turkey and tomatoes.

I was just heading upstairs to change into go out to “dinner” clothes for a 1:00 reservation and the doorbell rings.  Who comes to your house unannounced on Thanksgiving?  It was my Dad who had come for Thanksgiving.  Not only was he much better, but also my mother never told him we were going to have lunch at the club and he was not dressed in his “go to his daughter’s club” attire.  You can tell how communication goes in my family.

We all were thankful for his recovery and being there and said clothes made no difference on Thanksgiving.  While we were at lunch I saw my friend Amanda who had just finished getting her house painted and had a totally empty kitchen.  They came to the club for Thanksgiving but she forgot that her husband Scott and teenage son Evan might need to eat tonight.  Since I had spent the whole day cooking Thanksgiving to eat as leftovers I invited them over for dinner.  So after lunch I made some fresh cranberry relish, a pork tenderloin and some Brussels sprouts and Russ announces that his three week long headache has not reached a debilitating level and he took to the bed for relief.

Our friends came and Carter and I shared our dinner with them, which was a real bright spot in this Thanksgiving.  I hope that my mother recovers quickly and that Russ can shake this headache.  Right now I am thankful we are not in the emergency room and I am praying that tomorrow is a better day.

I hope that you and yours enjoyed a day full of family, food and laughter and the fighting and grudges were kept to a minimum.  We all have so much to be thankful for and I will not take lightly when someone says they are thankful for their health.