Thanksgiving Celebration #2

The kids and I were concerned that, because of Thanksgiving, Harriet would be too exhausted to enjoy Friday’s tea party. Therefore, Michelle made great deserts, teas, and snacks, and Cindy brought the best pizza in Lenawee County. All the guys were at Cindy’s eating pizza, drinking beer, or soft drinks, playing games, and generally having a good time. Meanwhile, the girls had lunch, with hot cider, and any kind of tea they wanted. After lunch the time was spent decorating and eating truffles. Michelle had made four different types of truffles; dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Oreo, and pumpkin. They took a truffle and rolled it in different toppings, including, coconut, candy sprinkles, powdered sugar, and nuts. Everyone got a plastic box to take four truffles home in.  Naturally, you would have to eat several different truffles to make sure that the four you took home were the right ones. Harriet was having a really good day, she wasn’t forgetting much, nor did she have a difficult time with conversation. I think this was because Michelle and Cindy took care of all the food so there wasn’t any pressure on Harriet and she could relax and enjoy herself.

When the guys returned to the house, we got to sample the truffles. They were so good that we had to eat a few different kinds. My favorite was milk chocolate rolled in coconut. The rest of the day was spent playing different games and snacking on left overs. It turned out to be a very good day. If you didn’t know better, you might think that there was nothing at all wrong with Harriet.

Saturday got off to a slow start. I made scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. Michelle had made different kinds of muffins, pumpkin bars, chocolate chip bread, cream cheese spread and chocolate butter. Throw in a nice hot cup of coffee and it’s not a bad way to start the day,

The Michigan/Ohio State game came on at noon. Some of the kids were playing a game on the table, while others sat down to enjoy the football game. During the game, Mike and Michelle got a Winter Storm Advisory for Peoria on their cell phones. It was calling for blizzard like conditions, with blowing and drifting snow and whiteouts starting around 3:00 pm on Sunday. They decided to leave for home around 6:00 pm and began packing. Harriet wanted to make stuffed Jumbo shell pasta for dinner. Gina, who is 100% Italian, was helping her. I wasn’t feeling well and laid down to take a short nap. The atmosphere was quiet with people reading, playing games, and watching football. Michelle and Mike went about the business of getting ready to leave and Harriet and Gina were putting the finishing touches on dinner.

We had dinner around 5:30 which included tossed salad, stuffed giant shell pasta, and Italian bread. The meal started with a toast using either sparkling grape juice or champagne. We’d had a family meeting on Thanksgiving in which Harriet and I told everyone how much we loved them and how proud we were of the people they had become. Then we shared our plans to see a lawyer and have a will, power of attorney, and other legal documents drawn up. We spoke about our intention of adding a rider to the will that would list specific items that were to go to certain people and shared what would be on that list. Then we asked each one if there was anything, we owned that they would like to receive. The meeting went very nicely, and everyone seemed happy with our ideas. The toast was a way to cap off the weekend. Harriet led the toast and spoke of her love, respect, and admiration for our family. She then asked God to watch over, protect and bless them all. Following the toast we sat down to a wonderful Italian meal. Harriet, and everyone else,  was very pleased at the way everything had turned out.

After dinner Michelle and Mike needed to leave for home. Everyone pitched in to help clean up and then took their leave. Soon only Harriet and I were left. What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend it had turned out to be. I think that one reason Harriet was doing so well had to do with teamwork, she knew things were being taken care of. Therefore, Harriet could, for the most part, relax and enjoy our time together. So, a big THANK YOU to Cindy, Michelle, Mike, Gina, and Michelle Renee for helping with all the food preparations. And a big thank you to everyone who helped with set up, tear down, washing dishes, sweeping, cleaning up,organizing games, and everything else that was done to ensure that Harriet could have a stress free, relaxed weekend. I know that the time will come when this disease will make it so that what happened this weekend will be impossible. what I mean is, the day is coming when, no matter how nice everything is, Harriet will not be able to carry a conversation, make a meal, or enjoy a party. That makes this weekend even more precious and makes me so much more grateful for all you did to bless her.