Living Thanksgiving
Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving with a meal of Turkey ,gravy ,stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, squash, carrots, peas and pumpkin pie. Out come the good dishes we use only about three times a year. The silver is cleaned and themed napkins are purchased . The tablecloth is pressed into service . Our table expands as we fit extra chairs around to accomodate friends and family. The house is decorated with bowls of gourds, red maple leafs and fallen chestnuts. The words “ Happy Thanksgiving” are posted on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. I try not to stress about the timing of all the dishes being presented…no one likes cold vegetables or over cooked turkey! Everyone sits down and we offer a silent prayer to the powers that be …a prayer of Thanksgiving for our bounty, our health, our peaceful country, our family, our friends. The wine flows..we all dig in!
At least that is what normally happens in my household.
This year is different. In July our son moved to London England for a two year work term. Even though he doesn’t live at home anymore I knew I would miss him and his hugs. I knew we would miss his laughter and visits. And I knew Thanksgiving would not be the same without Brent and his sunny ways.
What is a mom to do?
Well, my mom is 84. I really wanted to bring her to England to see Brent. Now. While she has her health. Now. While I have my health!. Now. Life is short.
So with that in mind we planned our trip for our Canadian Thanksgiving ..October 5th to 9th.. I am fortunate enough to work for an airline and so we traveled business class on a special ticket I had earned by working through some pretty horrendous winter storms and holidays last year..a thank you pass from our company. I had been saving this to use with my husband …but mom had never traveled in business class so I offered it to her instead… just the memory of her studying the menu is priceless.
Even though my mom is in good health…she IS 84 and therefore not quite as fast a walker as myself. I had to learn to pace myself every step of the way..on the Tube, sightseeing and navigating the city. I had to take the lead even though my sense of direction is pathetic. Thank goodness for the “ citymapper” app for my phone…once I figured out how to turn the roaming function on!
I almost lost mom a couple times..like the first time we got on the Tube and she didn’t t grab onto a pole. The subway train lurched forward and she came tumbling back into my arms. Thankfully a young man gave up his seat for her. We also misjudged how the long the walk would be on the northern edge of Hyde park and managed to put in 20000 steps that day. She could barely walk up the six steps of the hotel entrance. All I could think was “my brothers are going to kill me if mom has a heart attack on this trip!” In fact my younger brother had already warned me that mom doesn’t t know how to quit and will push on til she s exhausted. Lesson learned the first day…well not quite . On the last day we walked up to the Whispering Gallery in St Paul s Cathedral with Brent. It’s 276 steps. Her heart was pounding. (She now says she regrets she didn’t t walk on up to the other Galleries with Brent and I to see the magnificent view!) I’m just glad we didn’t t have to make any emergency calls to her health care provider.
All this was made worth while by seeing Brent and allowing him to become our tour guide over the week end. He has jumped right into London ife so could give us a running commentary on historical places and good places to eat. We got more than our fair share of hugs, smiles and laughter. A dose that will last me til Christmas.
The icing on the cake? When our daughter came for 3 days to join us and we had three generations at Kensington Palace,Buckingh palace, the Natural History Museum and the Tower of London . We got to watch Brent play hockey London style with tiny little nets. That was so much fun. The three of us created an extra layering of memories.
We enjoyed Chinese food in Chinatown, fish and chips and meat pies in ancient pubs, Italian cuisine in a cute deli on a rainy day, and Indian food to die for on Thanksgiving Monday
All this made possible by a loving husband who stayed at home as he awaits an orthopedic knee scope. He couldn’t t have done 20000 steps that first day. But he' ll be back to playing hockey after the procedure. In the meantime ,while the rest of the family were playing in London he painted our bedroom! I came home to a bit of chaos..no themed napkins or gourds. Just some empty paint cans and warm embracing arms.
I lived Thanksgiving this year . It was thrilling and I feel so grateful to have shared this experience with my mom and two adult children. I am so lucky to be walking through this life with a generous kind man.
The word “Thanksgiving" has taken on a whole new meaning.
