Okay…so I was standing in the grocery store next to the frozen turkeys when I got the call. I had called the Supervisor of Jeremy’s group home to see if he would be “allowed out” for Thanksgiving. The supervisor called me back to say no, he cannot leave the house..virus numbers are way too high. She told me he was going to have a great dinner and lots of fun doing stuff all day on Thanksgiving.
Usually, I cook Thanksgiving Dinner for Jeremy the weekend before Thanksgiving. He goes to his dad’s for Thanksgiving. He gets his favorite dinner twice in one week! Then my husband and I leave on Thanksgiving Day to visit my son and his family for the weekend in Middletown, New York. I realized, during that call, that I would not see either of my sons this Thanksgiving…a first for me.
Tears started in my eyes. I sucked it up, checked out, and later cried on my husband’s shoulder. A catastrophe? Of course not…just a blip in a world full of heartache due to this pandemic. We have all had to change our plans to keep us and our loved ones safe.
I have to keep reminding myself that, fortunately, no one in our families has gotten sick and, thank God, vaccines are on the way. I have to let go of my “ideal holiday” picture for this year and remind myself (often) that, although, everything has changed, the love we all share with family and friends is real and cannot be defeated by changes brought on by this horrendous virus. As hard as it is, and as cliche as it sounds, we really are all in this together even if we are apart.