It Could Be Worse

Up until last year, I had great fun with holiday preparations.  I love to cook, and getting all the cooking and baking done for Thanksgiving was quite enjoyable.  Last year, though, things changed.  During the year before last, my ability to stand and walk unassisted rapidly declined.  By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I could no longer stand long enough to do more than very short tasks.  And getting up and down became more of an ordeal as well - no longer could I quickly get up to check on something, as it took several minutes just to get from a sitting position to a standing one.

This year, things are no better.  I use a walker now, but my kitchen is a small galley kitchen, making it difficult to move around with a walker.  So how do I get ready for the holidays?  Well first of all, I enlist the help of my husband and children.  Thankfully, I have several children who are old enough to take over for me.  My husband is also a tremendous help.  I also make lists.  I have a list of cleaning tasks, one that shows when each food item needs to be prepared, cooked, etc., and one of all the different platters and serving dishes that need to be brought out of storage.  I have others, but those are the three major ones.

I've also adjusted my priorities.  I've cut down the number of dishes, as well as the complexity.  My kids really don't care for fruit pies, but are happy to eat lots of pumpkin, so we will have just one kind of pie.  We'll use pre-made crusts, boxed stuffing mix, and canned veggies.  I thought about buying one of those pre-made turkey dinners from the grocery store, but decided my kids need to learn how to do the cooking anyway.  So this year I am sitting here in my lift chair, being the director.  The kids have been assigned jobs, and my job is to monitor and guide them in completing their jobs.  I am also making cute little turkeys to use as place cards.

Is this the way I'd like to do Thanksgiving?  Not really.  What I'd prefer would be to have a big family dinner, with lots of different dishes, lots of extended family, and lots of friends.  But the reality is, that simply is not realistic for me at this point in my life.  So instead, I am being grateful that I have a husband and children who can pick up the slack.  It could be much, much worse.