Today ends a fairly eventful week.

Monday, Eliana was home from school as part of her classroom quarantine and general disruption of every human plan.

Tuesday, Tim texted me to asked if we wanted a whole turkey. It was one of the unclaimed frozen birds his work had purchased to give out to the employees around the holidays. I replied “I’ll cook it up Saturday,” and invited my brother and the cousins over to help eat it this weekend. We had missed so many holidays and I thought it’d fun for Eliana to see other children after homeschooling all week.

Wednesday, I got the dreaded phone call about Tim getting injured at work and spent the day crisscrossing two states while the kids stayed at my brother’s house.

Thursday, I focused on getting Eliana through her school work, and failed at keeping Ivy from painting the TV with nail polish while Tim recuperated at home.

Friday, I have little distinct memory of except that my brother texted around noon to see if we were still on for Saturday. Since the turkey had been out of a freezer since Tuesday, it was now or never. I googled recipes, did some baking math, and invited them over for 1 p.m.

Saturday, I got up at nine to deposit the bird in the oven. Unlike an actual Thanksgiving, I didn’t make a ton of sides, instead attempted to watch a movie with Tim while he convalesced on the couch while the kids popped in and out with requests literally every few minutes. About halfway through I gave up and found a half-used bag of frozen cranberries in the freezer and made some cranberry sauce on the stove and threw some potatoes in the oven, because why not? Tim felt well enough to drive over to Walgreens for beverages and additional snacks. Soon enough there was bang on the front door and the cousins came bursting in. It had all the feeling of real holiday. We ate the bird and watched YouTube videos of funny and interesting things while the kids ran in and out of the backyard and genuinely had a lovely time.

We have all missed a lot of special events and gatherings over the last couple of years. Ending a stressful week with an impromptu Thanksgiving mini-feast with family in January was the celebration we all desperately needed. I don’t know where you are or who you’re with, but don’t forget to take a minute to enjoy each other. Cheers!