Thanksgiving.

Happy day before Thanksgiving Yall! I was planning to get a blog post out before this one, but sometimes life gets in the way. So, that blog post I told yall about last week will just have to wait. Let’s talk holidays.

This time of year is my favorite, the weather is brisk and perfect, all the yummy food, and seeing family makes it that way. As I get further into the progression of autoimmune hepatitis and get even closer to being on the transplant list, holidays are getting harder. This week, I wanted it to all be about family. (Other than the fact I have a mountain of papers, projects, and tests to study for as finals are right after break!) I got to go back to Mountain Home to spend time with my mama, my in-laws, and my sister in law and her kids. I’ve discovered that I just sometimes don’t have enough spoons to get through my day.

We went to the aquarium in Springfield, MO at BassPro one day, and despite it being amazing, there were several times I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it through the rest of the exhibits. My body HURT after all the walking, and the constant moving around. I was so exhausted, I wasn’t really sure I was going to be able to move, much less get out of bed ever. You know that kind of exhaustion that makes you teary and wanna cry for no reason? Yeah, I was past that.

Another day I made homemade cinnamon rolls with my mama. Yall, I was at HOME. The constant go and do of my trip home made it hard to not think all the negative thoughts about how crappy I felt.

But as my husband told me today, it’s all about perspective. I knew that going to that aquarium would be the highlight of my niece and nephew’s week. So, I rallied any little extra bit of energy, and made it through. Stopping with them to ooh and ahh over jellyfish, sharks, and at the very very end, we got to pet the stingrays. They had the best day, and I’m still in shock at how wonderful that aquarium was, and that it is so close to my little hometown. I did the same thing when baking with my mama. I sat and watched her, sang snippets of Christmas songs waiting for things to cook, and enjoyed a whole day spent with my mama all by myself. It was all worth it. All the exhaustion, body aches, and nausea were worth it. I got three whole days to do nothing but spend time with my family. There is no where else I'd rather have been this week. 

I tell yall all of that to just remind you that there may be people sitting around your Thanksgiving table tomorrow who are battling a chronic illness. Just please remember to hug them. They tried to rest as much as possible beforehand so that they could make it a few hours and enjoy visiting with their families. They took naps beforehand, made sure they had any and all medicines they may need while there, and they cared enough about family to battle through their crap to come spend time with everyone. I’m not saying worship the ground they walk on at all! But I am reminding yall, that if they are there tomorrow, they made a choice that you were worth the exhaustion at the end of the day. Coming from someone with chronic illness, well that means they really super love you.

I hope you all have the BEST Thanksgiving!!

XOXO

Ali