I was SOOO happy to be home for Thanksgiving and to have an awesome travel partner. For our first Thanksgiving in Boston, we began the week eating at Cambridge Common. Part of their safety procedure is to require vaccines for indoor dining.
On Sunday, I had a “Zoomgiving” with the Eubanks family, who are a long time no see. We had an amazing chat and it was nice to hear everyone is doing well. It made me think of Grandma Jane, PopPop and Ralph and I often think of them.
Mom flew a few days early to decorate and set up the house. She even got to see some of her friends and then Dad, Mia and I flew on Monday night. We met Dad at her gate (which was right next to security). Susanne even came to Logan with us, but she could not go through security with us. Due to her hearing aids, I let her go first worrying that it would take longer, but it was still smooth. Oh and by the way, her backpack got caught due to her water bottle that she had but did not realize it had liquid in it.
Tuesday and Wednesday were productive days in the Fuller family with me seeing my eye doctor, my regular doctor and even got to see two of my friends. On Wednesday, Dad and I got our booster shots.
On Thursday, we watched a part of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade which was a relief because at first I was not feeling well. I thought of the entire Team Utah because it was formed in New York. I was wishing they could all be here, but we had our special day together. It was so nice to see spectators and an in-person parade after so much virtual.
Thanksgiving was more basic in Atlanta partly due to Marty and Willow being sick and partly because it was their first Thanksgiving without Walker and Uncle Harry. They just did a turkey and mashed potatoes. It was also Pete’s busy season, so it was not traditional.
While it felt mostly normal and old-time like to be home, there were a few things that felt a bit strange to me after being at school for 3 months. Firstly, toilets were so much higher. I had gotten used to squatting instead of sitting. The second thing that I got confused about is that I was no longer concerned about nuts. Since Eliana has a nut allergy, I had gotten used to living in a nut-free environment.
In Chicago, we had a wonderful feast and spent lots of time preparing for it. I did not help as much because I was not feeling my best at times. When we all sat down for dinner, we did a gratitude go-around. This was when we took turns saying what we are thankful for, but we were only allowed to speak if we had the turkey.
I also wore my onsie when I was not feeling well and it made me think of all my friends in London. This is such a tradition in the UK around the holidays but its not a thing here.
In Kansas, Texas and Sarasota, it was the first Thanksgiving without Aunt Nancy. Though it had been about 15 years since I last saw them, they were in my hearts and I thought of them. I wished I could have been with them to celebrate this first special day without their grandmother.
In Boston, they went up to Maine after having a Zoomgiving due to coronavirus. They went up to Maine and spent Erin’s favorite holiday with Rose and Mike. Drew even ate a drum stick from the turkey.
I am sure Charlotte, Canyon and Walker are celebrating this holiday in dog-heaven. Rest in peace once again. Wishing they could see me at Lesley, but we still have their spirit.
The Garcias were also in Chicago for Thanksgiving and made it out to LaGrange/Western Springs for on Friday. We shuffled on our shuffleboard and then we caravanned to The Elm and at snacks there. They also brought their niece Amanda with them. We were missing Brenda and Mark Herman but wished they could be with us … I bet they would have walked. We learned that the one of Domingo’s friend works with Susan Slivoni and that made me think of the family.
On Saturday, I went to the mall with Sam, who I have known since I was 15. We wandered and I bought a bunch of stocking stuffers. We enjoyed it although it was a bit drizzly so there was minor rain at the beginning. We even went to the Apple Store and I took a look at some IPhones.
We even went to the Build A Bear Workshop. It was a fun experience that brought me back to my childhood. This time, we got a gift for Willow. We picked out an unstuffed teddy bear and then we stuffed it ourselves. From there, we got to name the bear and take it home in it’s house.
Kate after School 