November 20, 2022 - Sunday

Ben started complaining of heart pain the day before yesterday and it got really bad for him last night. Today, he woke up with a super high fever, body aches, chills, and a sore throat! He took a COVID test and it was negative, just like Jonas's. We're pretty sure he has the flu. Jonas is still feeling terrible too and Ollie says she's feeling bad. Her cheeks are all red, but no throwing up and no fever. I'm guessing she's getting what Jonas has. 

Even though half of the family is sick, I wanted to make sure I got to church today. I didn't want my first week alone to be one that I called off, especially not being sure if I'd be there next weekend or not. I have really been enjoying it though, surprisingly. There is plenty of work to be done and it's been fun meeting all of the volunteers and seeing friends at church. Clemi "babysat" Ollie while I was gone and boy was I gone a long time. I expected to come home early, but since I didn't get any panicked texts, I stayed the whole time. But I brought Jimmy John's back with me and that helped Ben and Jonas be less mad. Ben slept pretty much the whole time and Jonas did nothing, so I'm not sure why it mattered to them anyway. But whatever. 

The rest of the day is honestly a bit of a blur? I worked on my puzzle for a couple of hours, I cleaned a lot, finished laundry, got mad at the kids (especially Ruby), talked to dad and MJ for a few minutes. That's about it, I think. We did make the decision to cancel the DE trip. It's super sad. Uncle George hosted Thanksgiving dinner every year for my whole life. I spent so many years celebrating that day in that house and I won't be there for the very last one. Aunt MaryAnne's spread is what I imagine dinners in Heaven will be like and this is the last one. I spent so many Thanksgivings laying on their floor, poring over the Black Friday ads, getting weighed in :), laughing with my sister and cousins, getting teased by my uncles, and taking family pictures in front of the fireplace. I can't believe my family won't be in the family picture this year! 😓 It's a sucky thing for sure, but I just need to embrace the suck and make the best of this situation. We'll have time together at home. We'll relax, we'll stay in our jammies, we'll eat good food that we prepare ourselves, and we'll let our bodies heal. It'll be fine. I'll have every day of all eternity to celebrate with my Uncle George and Aunt MaryAnne in Heaven at the end of this life and I still have all of the pictures and memories to hold onto until then.