For some reason I began to laugh when my son Donald said something during his month-long visit to help my other son Douglas and I get through some of our recent medical problems. He left before the latest problem, my doing some still unknown problem to my knee. Wish he was still here, but we are hanging in and doing that day by day thing.
Don remarked that at our house in Fallen we had missed the usual Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. What he didn’t know, and we didn’t at the time, was that we would probably miss one of those special days in February when we celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
It isn’t just the food, although our local caterers always do themselves proud, but we get a chance to check in with our friends — even a lot of our Democratic friends who always attend — but the governor and our D.C. representatives try and join the group.
After Don said what he did, I got to thinking about something, something silly, but to me it would be great fun to do something that would perhaps, in it’s own small way, make up for missing so very much over two months of our lives. I have to face it, it may have been my last holiday season.
Ok,forgive the “gee she’s sorry for herself routine, but let’s be honest, I’ve been hanging around a very long time.
This may all sound like I am in a foul mood, I’m not. I’m limping around with this gismo on my leg that keeps me from bending my knee, I realize that even if they find I need a new knee I am not eligible for one. I’m hoping they find something wrong that can have minor surgery, but if not I am going to take one day at a time, and today it is absolutely beautiful outside and I’ve done my going outside and saying my thank you to our Lord and Savior. One way or another, gimpy, on crutches, or in a wheelchair, I will be around as long as the Good Man wants me.
Doug is off to the doctor. He has to drive himself and he hasn’t had any trouble in that department. The puppies are both lying in a sunny spot where the sun comes through our front door, I have Blue Bloods on TV — another set of reruns and I don’t care, I love the show - and I’ll get back to watching when this is done. I haven’t had to take a pain pill this afternoon so I count myself lucky.
This is Friday and sometime next week I will need to have an MRI, I’m waiting to hear just when. Doug has the usual twice a week from both his nurse and a therapist plus a doctor’s visit in Carson City. We are trying to fit all of this nonsense in some kind of schedule. It drives my “plan ahead” son crazy, me. I go with the flow.
Sometime — in this midst of all of this — 1 am going to check our local groceries and look for a turkey breast. No, I’m not going to go nuts and get a whole big turkey, thank you, and I’m going to roast that thing along with my grandmother’s stuffing. Then I’m going to put together all of the other goodies associated with the holidays like mashed potatoes, cranberries, peas, pumpkin pie, etc. and sit my butt down on the sofa and smell those beautiful holiday smells that only that time of year flows through the house.
Yes, Doug and I did not get to the Lincoln Day dinner and missed that beautiful meal of prime rib and the fixings, but at least we will — I’m not sure just when, but soon - serve one of our favorite meals, the one we missed during his dreadful illness.
That’s the least I can do for Doug. I cannot ever forget that I almost lost him.
Edna Van Leuven is a Churchill County writer. She may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.