Almost a Year…
Thanksgiving is approaching and I’m feeling pretty good. We’ve decided to stay in Georgia this year since we had the unexpected Gymnastics Meet in Florida last month and the surprise party for my dad the month before. I’m looking forward to a week off school and am hoping for some downtime. Some family members are trying to persuade me to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but I’m not convinced. The last time I planned Thanksgiving with them we spent weeks debating on food type, and the week before, everyone bailed. I had already invited my nephew and his family, not to mention, I have my own family, so I had to cook the full meal by myself. After reminding my little sister/cousin of my reasons for not wanting to plan with them, she went into make-up mode. She held a family conference call between them to plan the entire menu so I wouldn’t have to cook. Her mom even assured me they would help clean before they left. Despite knowing that hosting never means doing nothing, I finally gave in. I now had a whole house to prepare for guests, even if they are family. Once I gave in and asked for details, I realized that their plan had a big hole in it; no desserts!!! Who plans Thanksgiving without dessert??!? It’s not that they didn’t want dessert, they just don’t know how to bake. One of them offered to buy, but if I’m able, I ain’t even trying to eat a Patti pie on Thanksgiving Day! So now, I’ll be cleaning and baking for Thanksgiving. There goes that relaxation…
Preparing for a holiday can take a toll on anyone, and although I had been feeling good, I didn’t want to overdo it. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to cook and clean so I wouldn’t get fatigued, so I began doing a little bit at a time daily leading up to the big day. Grocery shopping was a task, as everyone had similar items on their menu. It took multiple trips to various grocery stores to find Nilla Wafers for my banana pudding, because I refuse to use generic. Cool whip was being rationed, and frozen pie crust was nearly as scarce as wafers. With teamwork and determination, it all came together and by Wednesday evening, my duties were complete. My house was clean, sweet potato pies were cooling, and the Better Than Sex Cake and banana pudding were chilling in the refrigerator. By the time my other sister/cousins started arriving for our sleepover, I was already relaxing. We spent the next day cooking, eating, watching movies, playing games and most importantly, just being together. It was indeed another successful Thanksgiving, and my body felt great.
It’s Almost Christmas
Thanksgiving went well and its already time to start thinking about Christmas. Well, I’ve been thinking about it. Our Christmas trees have been up since mid-November, and my co-teacher and I have been playing Christmas music in class since the beginning of the month. I lucked out getting a teacher who loves Christmas music as much as I do, and a mini me who loves to decorate. One Sunday, while the boys were away, I decided to decorate the white Christmas tree solo. Preston and I had already taken it out the box and put it up, so it was patiently waiting for some holiday love. After looking through our trunks of decorations, I realized that needed white on white lights, so I decided to venture to Walmart. Mind you, I haven’t made going into a store a habit since struggling with my weakness and fatigue, but I was thinking that since they have a dedicated Christmas section, I should be fine. When I got there, the store was packed and there wasn’t a handicap parking spot available. This meant I had to walk farther to get to the door. It wasn’t bad, and I was able to get a basket to lean on. My first stop was customer service to return a bad dinner item selected in my pick-up order from earlier that day. I needed to exchange it but would do so after getting my new décor. Once in the holiday section, I really did feel like a kid at Christmas. I went for lights but ended up with lights and new decorations for the white tree.
Once I had all I needed, I remembered that I still needed to journey to the grocery side of the store. I felt my legs slowing and was getting tired, but it seemed ridiculous to be at the store and not get everything that I needed. So, I pushed passed my body and decided I’d rest once I got home. It would still be a while before the boys were home, so I took time to relax before decorating the tree. I knew I was too fatigued to pick-up the items I needed to celebrate Preston’s birthday at school the next day, so I waited for Kevin to come home so we could go together. He was shocked to find that I had been to Walmart and decorated one of the trees by myself and was happy to help with the rest of the errands. We got everything we needed, but I found myself needing help getting in and out of the truck and having to hold onto him while we were in the stores. I had pushed myself too far for one day, but the smile on my boys faces when they saw the tree and the birthday boy’s face when he woke up the next morning, made it all worth it!
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Join Areia Cobb every 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month as she shares her road to recovery from COVID-19 and how being a COVID-19 Long Hauler is affecting every aspect of her life; as a wife, mother of two active boys and a working professional. It’s our hope that these journal entries provide hope, inspiration and information as you or your loved one travels your COVID-19 long haul.
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