Thanksgiving 2009

I almost hate taking time out to write during a holiday. Seems like, instead, you should be tied down someplace, sucked in by the distinctly fall combination of football mania and turkey coma. But write I will, because oh what a Thanksgiving it's been.

Wednesday got off to a great start with a lot of baking, cooking, chopping, and mixing in NC with my sister, Mom, and the nieces. B came over around lunch and we headed out for ATL (rightfully) anticipating a surge of pre-holiday traffic. We got in in time to enjoy a homemade pizza dinner and some great company before gearing up for the next day's feasting.

It was fun coming back to ATL. B's Mom had found my wedding jewelry (oops) and B's grandpa had landed three boxes of my favorite pumpkin bread mix (yea!). All in all, a great start!

The great start hit a hiccup just as B's Dad started carving the turkey. Clumsy as I am, I do this kind of thing all the time. Turkey 09's disaster? Running into a chair leg with my toe. I'm not saying it's broken, but I am saying it's hard to walk on and points waaay too far "west" for a left-foot toe to do normally. Good thing I know a great orthopedist!

I cried, mostly because I was scared (I've done this before) and embarrassed (really? 20 minutes before dinner?), but also because, well, it hurts, for one. Other reasons? I can't wear shoes (except for B's sneaker). I have to go to the Birmingham office this week for "the big talk" and now I'm going to end up hobbling in wearing jeans and (mismatched) sneakers. But also, and perhaps the biggest reason, was that I couldn't call Dad.

Normally when I do something stupid (physically, at least), Dad would be my first call. He'd tell me I was fine and to go see a doctor on Monday for an x-ray. (All of which I'm doing, by the way.) But it was still hard not to be able to call him. So I cried for my toe and for my heart. Overall, it was probably a good thing; I got the tears out that needed to escape anyway.

I was teary before, during (oy vey), and after dinner, but B's family is fabulous; they know and "get it" and all of that. If I wasn't with my family this year for Thanksgiving, there's no place I'd have rather been than here.

So we've iced, elevated, and rested my poor foot and locked down a Monday morning visit to my fabulous orthopedist, my big brother Lloyd (with a second opinion coming in from Minnesota should we need it, I'm sure). Other than that, there's not much to be done! B's been wonderful, making me feel better about all sides of the pain and even knowing enough to ask if it was foot pain or heart pain. What would I do without him? Probably cry a lot more in my stuffing!

I'll update more on Toe-gate 2009 after my Monday appointment. I'm hoping it's just badly bruised or something like that, but it could be broken, with a worse-case scenario being that I need a pin. Prayers, please!