Thanksgiving anyone? Everyone?

MarcieB

I will begin by assuming all of us might say "surviving cancer* is at least in the top 10 of our thankfulness list. And even the pandemic cannot take that away. We are thankful!!
But, the pandemic is taking away a LOT of our joy for this holiday, isn't it? My family is all out of state, I mean REALLY far away so we never did do the entire family Thanksgiving together. Sometimes one or more of them would visit here for dinner and extended fun, but my husband and I usually do the meal at a restaurant. This year he and I had reservations at a really nice restaurant and we were looking so forward to specialness of it all - but, no. We are going to pick up the dinners we would have ordered, bring them home and watch a movie on Netflix. (and be thankful our family is all in their respective homes, being safe and we will see them as soon as we can). I am wondering if plans got changed for you too? Is anyone saying, "Screw this..." and going ahead with family dinners? (I'm SO over all this)

MarcieB

Just one more thing - Who knew we could not use the word that is also a noun meaning - "the thing ones uses a screwdriver for..." on this site? I got the dreaded triple X (XXX) and now one might assume I used and expletive that is much stronger than the one I actually used. Lol! Oh, well, I guess any expletive might work here...?

po18guy

Daily body counts do not help the anxious and anxiety-prone. And lockdowns in Australia and the UK seem only to have spread the disease among those in lockdown, as well as preventing timely treatment for those with other conditions.

In Oregon and Washington, neighbors are being encouraged to snitch on those who seem to have over legal gatherings. That is rather ominous, actually.

On the lighter side, in some jurisdictions, 6 is the maximum size for gatherings, but a funeral may include up to 30. Therefore, one family is announcing the death of the family turkey and has invited 26 "mourners." In lieu of flowers, they are encouraged to bring a side dish...

Bengal

My family (not large) decided to do individual Thanksgivings , everyone celebrating in their own homes. Not really a hard decision. My sister's and I are all over 65 and have various other conditions, my mother is in long term senior care and not allowed to leave, one sister and nephew live downstate, my niece and family are in another state, so it would have involved long distance traveling if we had got together. We decided to do the smart thing.

Total non sequitur but did anyone hear Gov.Cuomo won an Emmy for his daily Covid19 briefings this spring. I know I often watched. Pretty Cool.

legaljen1969

@Marcie. We are having a family gathering. There will be 8 total. All of us have been tested several times. My parents are very careful considering my father has Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which has been treated. I have been on the "lucky" end of the outcomes from breast cancer. I have been very diligent with germ fighting too. My sister in law was fighting some stuff last year. We haven't had a family Thanksgiving in many years and I think we are all just so over everything and want to celebrate the fact the fact that (as my boss says)- none of us took the trip to Clay County this year. LOL
@Po- That is the funniest thing I have seen in awhile. Mourning the death of the turkey and bringing side dishes in lieu of flowers. Priceless.
I know I have some crazy family issues, but I am hoping we can just enjoy our time together and have a nice holiday.

Carool

MarcieB, I for one DID assume you’d used the all-purpose fuck instead of the word beginning with an S. Here’s to driving the censor crazy!

Bengal, I hadn’t heard that good news about Gov. Cuomo. Thanks for mentioning it!

My partner and I never do much for Thanksgiving other than wait for it to be over. We have no kids and no other relatives nearby. I have a brother I’m close to but haven’t met since the pandemic began (he, too, lives in Brooklyn but not near me at all). He and I Zoom.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Let’s hope that next year’s Thanksgiving will be back to the way it was in pre-virus times.

MarcieB

Carool, I deliberately used the S word so I would not get the triple X, but evidently the censors are Puritans, waiting to re-live thanksgiving. It reminds me of a timely turkey joke, it goes like this:

A sweet little ole lady bought herself a beautiful parrot that could talk. The problem was, the parrot's vocabulary included some pretty salty language. The poor lady did not know what to do to discourage him from saying bad words. One day, after he uttered a few s-words, she threw him in the refrigerator and he got very quiet! She waited a few minutes, let him out and he said, "Lady, what the (H-word) was THAT all about?' So she grabbed him and threw him right back in. He got very quiet again so she took him out and he said, "D-word! It's so cold in there!" Completely frustrated the lady grabbed the parrot once more and this time she threw him in the freezer! The parrot shivered and looked around, only to see a frozen turkey. He said, "Geez! What did YOU say? F-word?"

You have to admit that joke would have been much funnier if I could have used the real words, but big brother censor is watching...sigh! ;-)

legaljen1969

@Bengal, I always thought the Emmys celebrated/recognized the entertainment value of someone's television appearances or their acting. I wouldn't be too happy about that if I were Cuomo. I am not saying he was acting or trying to be "entertaining" as that would be a really poor message to send.
I do see that Emmys recognize excellence with various areas of television and emerging media. He was certainly on the television a lot and he conveyed a lot of information. At least he was out there informing people of the information he believed they needed to know. He was definitely doing all he could to be proactive.
I am sure winning an Emmy was not at the forefront of his mind when giving his daily briefings, but I suppose it's pretty cool that he did. If he was aspiring for an Emmy- that would be a little odd.

Cactus49

We are having a quiet Thanksgiving, just the two of us. I am a 19-year breast cancer survivor and work in a hospital and my wife is currently doing chemo for uterine cancer that involved a lymph node. We are grateful that it was caught before it was much worse. Also, thankful that my sister in Montana is recovering from COVID, 6 weeks in hospital so far, moving tomorrow to extended care to continue weaning off oxygen (late 70's so no ventilator, just oxygen on Blast). Both my parents (96 and 97) are in assisted living; they are divorced so are in different states. Each is on shut down in their respective facilities because of a spike in cases where they live. My Christmas wish is that I will get to see them and hug them one more time before they pass. As we say to our friends and family, be well and stay safe so we can all gather in person next year when this is over.

Lynne-I-Am

Hi guys. I too watched most of the daily briefings by Governor Cuomo on the Covid Virus last Spring and was impressed at how organized and specific he was in his messaging .. As far as Thanksgiving plans go, instead of the usual nine ,we will have 6 at our table , My oldest son and his wife will not be present because he was recently exposed to a coworker whose wife tested positive for COVID so they are both staying home out of an abundance of caution. My sister will not be coming because she is 72 and feels safer keeping close to home. My daughter and son in law tested negative for COVID last week. They are traveling up from Fresno and will not be visiting with any friends while here. We plan on having an outside bbq turkey dinner while practicing social distancing. No hugs or kisses. It will definitely be different .

LiveWithCancer

We're staying put. My 90-year-old mom at first said she didn't want to do Thanksgiving and then changed her mind, but I talked her out of it. My daughter-in-law isn't careful at all and I am just afraid that she might bring the virus to Thanksgiving dinner - my mom and my husband would be unlikely to survive an infection (though who knows). I know too many people lately who have relatives or who themselves have been infected to take many chances (though I did run to Dollar Tree and Tuesday Morning this afternoon). I plan to order Thanksgiving Dinner from Cracker Barrel, if that's possible. Need to remember to check it out.

ChildOfGod4570

It will be a small gathering, as my family only comprises 7 members in all. WE're all taking precautions, and we've all limited our times out of the house. I'm sure we'll have the windows open during dinner! HUGS and God bless.

junie1

I am having Thanksgiving at my daughters house.. Its time to get back to doing things as families.. I'm not giving up my usual family gatherings becasue of a couple things. One being this Covid 19 thing,, and the other having cancer. I need my family and time with them!!

Horselady46

I usually go to my kids house or they come to mine. This year I am staying home so I am going to cook a turkey with all the fixings and share it with and elderly couple that were planing one eating frozen dinner. I will just drop off the food at their door. But at least I won't have too much turkey left over.

Dltmoll

We are staying home. We will be dropping dinner off for my sister and for my 92 year old mother-in-law; my 3 kids will all be celebrating in their homes. My middle son had Covid, (he manages a golf course) moderate symptoms, but waiting to see what was going to play out was agonizing. My brother, an infectious disease doctor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last December, is not having anyone, including his kids, over either. despite the fact that it could be his last Thanksgiving. His son, a hospital radiologist, is pleading with people to stay home. Its just too risky for everyone involved.
Interesting predictor here: https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/

Bengal

Sounds like most people are opting for stay home, stay safe. Kudos. Cactus49, I know what you mean about just wanting an opportunity to be with nonagenarian parents, close up and in person, while they are still on this earth. My mom is 95 and in senior care. I can visit her at her CLOSED window but with winter descending upon us here in Northern New York that will become problematic. We have to watch weather forecasts an plan accordingly.

Legaljen, Cuomo's Emmy was not for entertainment or acting. I don't recall the exact wording but it was an Emmy for constructive use of the television medium for the benefit and/or instruction of the general public. He graciously accepted on behalf of the people of New York.

BuckeyeShelby

No real family left. Except for pandemic I would have gone to a friend's house, but this year I have my frozen turkey dinner and some extra broccoli cheese and potatoes and stove top stuffing. At this point, I usually only see 1 person a week. My friend Trace is still doing my laundry. It's sad when you miss your home health nurses..... At least they were human contact. Maybe I'll share my turkey with the cat.

TerriL

My children are scattered across the US and of course no one is traveling. My husband and I will have a quiet dinner at home.

Carool

MarcieB, hahahaha! I hope that parrot flew the XXXing coop!

fiddler

Remember the 60's saying "be there or be square"?

Being there this year on the West Coast - all of it - is impossible a/c governors' proclamations. The West Coast is pretty much in lockdown again, and a person traveling into or out of his/her state is supposed to quarantine for 14 days. Yeah, like that's gonna happen! Anyway. We can be arrested if we're caught (out of state license plates). Can you believe that? Our city police chief stated to the paper this week that his priority - for him and his deputies - is education, not lockdown. I don't know what he means by that, but, whew!

What we've been doing all year is virtual dinners with our son and his girlfriend. We set a laptop on the table so we can see everyone and dig in. This T-Day we can call our son and watch him prepare the dinner if we want. The last one was just like 'being there'.

Come to think of it, Skype and FaceTime are pretty good tools. There are better apps out there, but I don't want another learning curve. I'm gonna have dinner with my best friend from kindergarten - she lives in Colo. Springs. "Why didn't I think of that before," she said, bopping the side of her head?

Anyway, happy T-Day everyone!!!!

Think positive, test negative.

Bug

We were invited to a friend's home for an outside, bring-your-own-meal Thanksgiving. At first we accepted the invitation and then decided not to go. I'll get cozy on the couch and watch the Macy's parade (I understand there will be some version of it) and the annual dog show (again, some version of it). I hope everyone has as happy a Thanksgiving as possible. Stay safe.

BoiseB

My daughter is thinking of possibly having a Zoom session for family members who have this ability. My church is broadcasting a special service on Facebook and YouTube so I will be "attending" . Fiddler have you tried Zoom? That is the only one I know how to use. Here in Washington, our Governor issued increased restrictions essentially walking the entire state back to stage 2. Our county was at stage 3. However county health officials have the power to impose restrictions on their county which our county health official has done. Also our county health officer issued some recommendations which were simply don't do it. It is sort of like restaurants can operate at 25% capacity but it is not wise to go there.

Teachertina

My husband and I will have Thanksgiving at home alone. All 4 of our grown kids are having theirs at home with their families. We will talk or FaceTime with them all throughout the day. They are very concerned about being around us right now as our area is having a huge spike in virus cases. We all will gather together some other time in order to make sure we can ALL be there for the occasion. Stay safe, stay well. Best wishes to you all!

MarianneT

I have a large family...9 siblings. My mother has 27 grandchildren and 3 great grandson and 1 great granddaughter coming in a few days. We typically all get together. This year we will have a quiet day with immediate family. I do not mind for myself but my 84 year old mom will miss the big gathering. I think the isolation has been tough on her. she is used to having so many people around.

legaljen1969

@Bengal, that's why I said I had always thought it was an entertainment award but I did look it up to see why Emmys are given. I did say I didn't think he was seeking to entertain or to get an Emmy, just that I thought it would be rather odd if that had been his focus.

MLT

Thanksgiving will start for me tmrw when my granddaughter comes to make pies and cranberry salad. Thurs it will just be one son and family, so just 4 of us. Other son is exposed daily. Will so miss the hilarious interaction of my sons! And miss my other grandkids.
Thankful I am here and feel good enough to cook!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

JustForToday

BuckeyeShelby, my heart goes out to you. Being alone is hard. And harder still when dealing with health issues. However, you have a cat. So, I know you will be receiving unconditional love on that day.

We traditionally spend Thanksgiving with a dear friend who is 93 years old. While it is difficult not getting to see her, we will stay home. Every phone call she mentions that she wants to see us again "while we can". I just keep reminding myself of what a newscaster said: spend Thanksgiving together and plan funerals at Christmas. I intend to have a Thanksgiving phone call with her and another one for Christmas. It is the better of the two options for me.

fluteplayer

I delivered meals to my daughter on Thanksgiving as she had chemo two days before.I found her really good that surprised me.On Monday she had a test and she had the virus. my husband and I have been fine since but I did go to church as I am the piano player. Now the deco but n is insisting I have a test but they wont give me one without symptoms. I have shortness of breathe but I have had it for over a month. Do we need a test ?

Bengal

"Better safe than sorry." I would get the test. Especially if you have been in a situation where there are multiple people at an inside gathering. Testing, testing, testing. One of the best ways for us to get out ahead of this thing. Good luck to you.

Bug

You do have a symptom - shortness of breath. And you’ve had it for over a month. I would get the test.