Thanksgiving, Re-Imagined

Halloween through New Year’s Eve are my absolute favorite time of the year. I look forward every year to the beginning of Autumn, which then ushers in Halloween, Thanksgiving, and ultimately, Christmas. This year, I had many plans for Thanksgiving, as it was our first one in the new house, and we started early with the planning and cleaning. However, Fate had a different plan for us, one we weren’t all that enthusiastic to bring to life.

The weekend of November 12th, Chris and I spent a lot of time getting the house ready for the holidays. We cleaned and scrubbed and de-cluttered. We had a lot of plans for the following weekend, the one just before Thanksgiving, as well. On the last Thursday before Thanksgiving, we went out and picked up a turkey and a ham, and put the behemoth bird in the fridge to thaw, since I was pretty sure a 25 lb turkey probably needed a to be ice-free. We started that Saturday morning with some cleaning and a conversation about buying some stools for the bar, because we were expecting more people than could sit at the table. Besides, it was something I’d been meaning to do since we moved in, but just never got around to purchasing. I looked at barstools online and ordered some to be picked up from At Home.

Sunday dawned and I woke up with a slight sore throat, but I thought nothing of it, because that isn’t all that unusual for me. I can get a sore throat from a change in the weather, or from allergies, or because it’s Tuesday. I popped a couple of Tylenol and went about my business. Travis came by and hung out for a while, but shortly after he left, I told Chris I just wasn’t feeling well. On Monday I woke up and every joint in my body hurt A LOT. My head was hurting, and my eyes burned. I was feeling congested, and I was sneezing every few minutes. I thought, Great, I don’t need a cold the week of Thanksgiving! I send a message to the folks at work and said I’d be working from home, then decided for good measure, I should probably take a COVID test. I’ve never had COVID, but I did have a test done by CVS back when home tests were impossible to find, and that one was negative. I had some tests here at the house, though, just in case, and it took very little time for the bright red line to appear. I was positive for COVID.

UGH.

I showed Chris the test, and he said he would try to stay as far away from me as possible, but by that time, if he was going to get it, he was probably already infected. I informed the folks at work that I was positive for COVID, and then I had to tell the kids that Thanksgiving at my house was a no go.

On Monday, Travis ended up sick, fortunately not with COVID, but probably some sort of bug or a cold. But on Wednesday, Chris tested positive for COVID, and we were both isolated for the duration.

Fortunately, we were able to get the turkey to Kerstin and a few other things she had not been prepared to make, and she made Thanksgiving dinner, then delivered plates back to us. She did a great job, even though she was super nervous about cooking a 25 lb turkey. But Thanksgiving was not quite the day I had planned, and quite frankly, the last couple of weeks have not been a lot of fun.

However, we still have a lot to be thankful for this year, and even in the last two weeks. Chris and I had neither had COVID before now, and I thank God that we had been vaccinated and boosted (I’ve been boosted twice, Chris once). I am thankful that we both had a relatively mild case of COVID, with no serious complications, and the worst of it for us were body aches. I’m grateful for a daughter who was more than willing to run errands for us and take care of us, even though she has two small children. I’m grateful we work for a company that allows us to work at home when we need to, and that we were both encouraged to take time off when and if we needed it, even though it is truly the busiest time of year for retail. And I’m grateful for companies like Amazon, HEB, Krogers, and Michaels who offer online shopping, curbside pick up, and conveniences that were unheard of even three years ago. I really do not know what we would have done for the last two weeks without all of these things, but I know it would have made being sick a lot worse.

Today is day 13 for me, day 10 for Chris. According to the CDC, after today, we can go out in public without fear of being contagious to others. Most of the time, we were not in the mood to do much of anything after work but sleep and watch tv. I’m getting my energy back, and this weekend I intend to wrap Christmas gifts that I bought during quarantine, clean up the house a little, because let’s be honest … it’s a mess again after two people have been sick for the last two weeks, and maybe even decorate a little bit. I might even get some sewing done. But one thing is for sure – I will make sure I keep home tests around just in case, and I will also be sure to keep the freezer and pantry stocked with easy to make meals in case this happens again. Thank goodness for meal delivery services, because I’m here to tell you, they probably saved our lives a few times. There was rarely a day when either of us felt like making anything in the kitchen, and it showed. If not for the food delivery, our neighbors probably would have called the cops for wellness checks, because we are not people who are home all the time.

I still wear out easily, so tonight I plan to sit in my recliner and enjoy a quiet Friday evening at home. But tomorrow, I have every intention of going to the quilt shop. There are a couple of things I want that are on sale. 😉