Well, G woke up at 4 am with burning fever, and now she’s throwing up. So instead of driving down to Bell Buckle for Thanksgiving with the clan, we will be waiting a day or so to travel, meaning no actual Thanksgiving meal for us today. Huge bummer. I dream of Thanksgiving foods all year, waiting to feast on turkey, stuffing and cranberries. (Thankfully, J and E are with their Dad’s family for the holiday this year, so at least they won’t miss out.)
Sickly toddler who wants to be held + tired mama = a photo of what Thanksgiving Day 2012 looks like at Casa Hickju.
Still, I am fully aware of how blessed we are, and I never, ever take any moment for granted. I understand now better than I ever did before the joy of simply getting to hold my feverish child in my arms as long as she wants me to, seeing her flushed little cheek pressed up against me, and just listening to her breathe in and out.
She’s here. I’m here. We are together. She will be well and whole and healthy, dashing around the house and garden with her cousins within just a day or two. And that’s what I am thankful for today because I know all too painfully that there are many parents all over the world today who are also holding beloved children in their arms – children they know will not be well again. I’ve been that parent, and as I snuggle my feverish youngest against my chest this morning, I’m crying just a little for each and every one of those mothers and fathers.
+++++
How are you spending your Thanksgiving Day today, and what are you feeling especially thankful for this year? I’d love to hear.
Love from our family to yours,
Katie
We are also not traveling or eating turkey, since my middle child had her tonsils and adenoids taken out on Monday. I am thankful that she is doing really well.
Oh, I am sorry to hear poor little G is sick and you will be missing out on your big Thanksgiving dinner and gathering. I hope she’ll be feeling much better quickly.
Sorry to hear G is sick. With you in spirit in new York. Packed the kids into the car last night to make the hour trip to my parents’. 10 minutes from their house my toddler started throwing up. So we stopped at my mom’s to clean her up and turn around and head home. Sigh. She’s better today but we are sticking close to home. Thanks for this, and helping me put my bummed out feelings into perspective. Happy thanksgiving!
Poor G! I hope she’s on the mend quickly, and I hope you all stay well.
I’m thankful for family, health, and the little moments with the people I love. They add up to so much, and I will never know how I got so lucky.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!
I’m sorry G. is sick, but this is a very beautifully written post.
p.s. Kids really do have impeccable timing don’t they? My youngest is RARELY sick but every time she has been, it has been right on a special occasion (her first birthday, my husband’s 40th birthday bash, Disneyland, and the night my husband and I were just heading out the door to see Eric Clapton with tickets that cost over $300). :-p
@ L -
Yep . It’s pretty remarkable, actually, that timing thing. As I read your comment I suddenly remembered something that honestly, I don’t think I’d thought about or recalled in 30 years or more, which is the time when I was 5 or 6 and my Brownie troop was going ice skating. I’d never been ice skating before and was SO EXCITED. But I for sick ghat day and I couldn’t go. I remember lying in my parents’ bed wailing with disappointment while also feeling so ill. I could NoT believe I’d gotten so sick on that day of all days.
I am thankful for the very reason that my family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner was canceled: a short time ago a call came through with a new kidney for my uncle, who’d been on dialysis a long time. His transplant surgery went well, and now he is being cared for by a couple of family members. Risk of infection with immunosuppression drugs means he can’t be exposed to many people, so we are skipping
Thanksgiving this year. I miss everyone, but so glad that after 10 calls that turned out not to be a kidney for him, the 11th time for him was the charm.
@Bearing -
Oh my gosh! That’s AMAZING! That definitely makes today Thanksgiving Day in the truest sense. I’m so glad you have such wonderful news. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Thanksgiving Sweet Mamma.
My short travel today was to visit the NICU 45 minutes away to see my newest daughter. She’s been there for two weeks, after arriving into this world a month too early, way to small, and after some problems. She’s so tiny and precious, and she may be home soon. We will have a long road ahead with some other issues she has, but right now she’s close to being home. And that’s a glorious thing.
We missed all of you so much. I hate to think about that sweet baby feeling bad.
Poor G! I hope she’s on the mend already. We spent a quiet Thanksgiving with my parents – complete with a Turk-atrosphe where my husband accidentally smoked the turkey at 400 degrees instead of 200 degrees. I’m thankful that was our only holiday mishap. I’m thankful that my sweet babies are with me tonight and that my youngest took his first steps today. My heart goes out to mbmom7, but I know that in a few short years her little one will be running around.
Spent it basically by myself due to ” doing something to the cartlidge around sternum ~ ouch but hubs went to niece AND brought home delish food First year without a parent or sibling (and have no children). Lots to be thankful for despite a brain MRI that has me terrified. Listened to PBS and heard / watched a young Judy Collins perform Turn Turn Turn with good ol’ Pete Seeger himself. Perfect ya know? I got through it and trying to cast my cares AND not take them back. Thanking God for his grace and mercy.
Spent it basically by myself due to ” doing something to the cartlidge around sternum ~ ouch but hubs went to niece AND brought home delish food First year without a parent or sibling (and have no children). Lots to be thankful for despite a brain MRI that has me terrified. Listened to PBS and heard / watched a young Judy Collins perform Turn Turn Turn with good ol’ Pete Seeger himself. Perfect ya know? I got through it and trying to cast my cares AND not take them back. Thanking God for his grace and mercy.
I just read your post – as always your words move me to tears. Last years Thanksgiving was marred by a DUI single car accident – still thanking God no one else was involved but our son. After a few months of sobriety, relapse visited him yet again – June 21st he was hospitalized after a suicide attempt of overdosing. He coded 8 times in the course of the day and we were preparing ourselves to lose him. We were told if he lived they didn’t know what his life would look like. He was one of the few lucky ones, and after 2 weeks was able to leave the hospital and go into rehab. He today feels grateful and is continuing his rehab in a long term facility. He came home yesterday (first visit ) for Thanksgiving with two other recovering friends and we were all able to celebrate together. It’s the first holiday in six years that has been a happy occasion. Addiction didn’t steal our happiness yesterday – I am thankful beyond words. I too was feeling the pain of all the parents who have lost a child to addiction and illness. We who know this pain never forget those who are living with it. We are part of the club no one ever asks to join. Love to you and your family – I hope G is feeling better today and safe travels can happen for you all soon.
@Debbie – I am so thankful for your son’s sobriety, and for the fact that you have him with you this holiday season. Thank you so, so much for sharing this wonderful story with me. Much love to you, Katie
PS: That’s me, Katie, somehow signed in as Jon
@Katie – thank you. I have wanted to share for a long time. As I’ve followed your blog and Henry’s Facebook page, I often think of all the parents who are in the depths of grief – either from losing their child through death and or addiction. It’s a lonely, sad and horrible place – our children are suppose to grow old and happy. Well, the truth is, some of our kids find the substance that makes them feel better than the world is offering them and that becomes the center of their world. I share my story because right now, today only, I can offer a glimpse of hope to other parents.
Yes, many cases of the stomach virus are plaguing families this Thanksgiving! My niece came down with it Wednesday, but we all still had dinner together Thursday. She felt better. I’m hoping that we do not come down with it. I witnessed my husband lick his fingers to remove some chocolate cream pie residue from my son’s cheek and scowled at him. Ewww! Please pass the … gravy … I mean, hand sanitizer!
Last Christmas, a friend who was our house Christmas Eve called the next morning to say that she either had a stomach virus or we had poisoned her with shellfish. When our son began vomiting in the car on the way to take a disabled cousin to the airport and through security (nothing says Merry Christmas like putting vomit-covered shoes in the bin to go through security!), we realized it was a virus.
I hope everyone at the casa is feeling better soon!
@debbie: Here’s hoping for more happy, healthy holidays together! My prayers are with you.
Thank you!
@Debbie-you and your son’s story moved me to tears. How wonderful that he was able to be with you this Thanksgiving, and what a difference a year can make. I hope and pray that he continues to do the hard work of recovery, and that you have many more Thanksgiving dinners with him.
@Geri A- thank you so much! Your prayers are truly appreciated.