November 27: I'm Thankful to . . .
Back when I began my "take back November" month of thanks-giving posts, I wrote an all-purpose disclaimer that I was epically grateful for my husband, children, etc., etc., and would not therefore repeat any of these "big-ticket" thanks items. And I still mean that. Please note that I did not say "Thankful for," but "Thankful to." Today, I am filled with gratitute toward my kids, because they saved my bacon.
I woke up this morning with migraine. Those of you who know me personally know that I get migraines of a variety that are measured in days, not hours. I take a daily combo of meds to keep these monsters at bay, and by and large I consider them to be under control. But all this week, I could feel trouble brewing behind my left eye.
Today, Thanksgiving morning ~ with pies to bake, Brussels sprouts to make, and production of a birthday cake to oversee (not to mention the disaster zone I left my kitchen in when I finally trudged off to bed last night) ~ I woke up with my head feeling very, very bad. But I wasn't sure it was a migraine until I got up, tipped over, caught myself, and realized that the vision in my right eye was blurred. Migraine.
I tried to tough it out, I really did. I went to the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker. I fed the cat. I'll spare you the details of the 10 minutes that followed, but trust me, it wasn't pretty. It ended with me knocking back some medicine with a black coffee chaser and stumbling back to bed with an ice pack clasped to my forehead. That's right, folks: with all that cooking left to do and a sink full of last night's cooking dishes, I went back to bed.
My husband asked if there was anything he could do. I requested that he kill me. He was sympathetic, he said, but declined. So, what did my kids do? Well, my 12-year-old daughter washed all those dishes, even the blender and all the mixing bowls. Then she made a birthday cake from scratch - without coming to ask me where a single ingredient or implement was. (She was prepared to make pie dough, too, bless her heart, but thank heavens I'd prepped that the previous night.)
My fourteen-year-old son came into my room and put on the Macy's Day Parade ~ with the sound turned all the way down ~ in case I felt up to watching, our family tradition. Later, when I finally managed to get out of bed and stand upright long enough to shower and dress, as I walked through the living room on my way to the kitchen, he said, "Oh Mom, you're looking . . . better."
The pies got baked, the Brussels sprouts got made (and photographed), I managed to make buttercream so my daughter could decorate the birthday cake (which she did entirely on her own), and eventually my migraine subsided to the intensity of a run-of-the-mill, non-vomitrocious, seeing-out-of-both-eyes headache. Ultimately, it was a fine day, and I enjoyed spending it with my family.
After dinner, back at home, my son came to me and said, "Mom, I'm thankful that you still managed to make such awesome pies even though you felt like a big pile of poop."
Way back on November 1, I was already thinking about what to write for this post, this all-important T-day "big thanks" issue of my thanks-giving series. All through the month so far, I've been turning over ideas, rejecting them because none seemed appropriately weighty. In a month of thanks-giving, you need a thanks with some gravitas to headline Thanksgiving Day. Turns out I needn't have worried. I should have figured I wouldn't have too much trouble finding something big to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
What are you thankful for today?
Great post, Sandy. I don't think anyone minds hearing how thankful we are for fabulous family. It's most important that we remember how glad we are to be with loved ones. I honestly think that there are folks out there who benefited greatly from reading your post because it reminded them of who they treasure in their lives. Of course, that was your goal right from the start ;)
ReplyDelete~Thanks, Micha, for your kind words! I think it's something I take for granted, my terrific family, and when I do finally stop and think about it, I'm often overwhelmed. :) I know I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteWow, you have some amazing kids!! I can't imagine getting through a day like this with such a migraine. Sounds like you're pretty amazing yourself! Hope you're feeling normal again now.
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