Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving in Quarantine

It's Thanksgiving weekend.... and it couldn't come at a better time. My 10 year old baby has influenza, a "novel strain" it seems and this is day 10 of low grade fever, aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, and a persistent cough. My house smells of lysol and I've laundered linens and slept in my living room to give her my bed most nights.
John Lennon wrote lyrics to this effect, "Life happens when you are busy making other plans..." The unwelcome virus visitor postponed our weekend plans to host our welcome visitors, the grandparents from the Great White North. But we managed to make the best of it anyway. While Emily slept, John and I did our own turkey trot for a couple of miles on an unusually mild Thanksgiving Day in Iowa. And never in 47 years have I ever sat down to a Thanksgiving dinner just for two. It was wonderfully unique, relaxed and a mix of  nice table with a measuring cup for a gravy boat because I couldn't find a real one as easily. "When I was his age..." that would not have happened AT ALL. Nor would we have taken 50 minutes to sculpt Kinnick Stadium out of mashed potatoes. Nor would a Beatles greatest hits cd be the background music or us in jeans and t-shirts...
"Thanks for all you did to make it a fun holiday, Mom," said my 13 year old at the end of the night.
Sweeter than pecan pie.

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