Thanksgiving Weekend

 

We are coming to the end of Thanksgiving weekend.....its been ok.....

On Wesdesday night (or really Thursday morning) Jason worked until 4 am.   We had planned to go to his parents early on Thursday so he could smoke the Turkey, but needless to say he needed a bit of sleep so we weren't able to get there as planned.   Meanwhile, Alaina woke up with a fever and a sore throat.   And Jason's parents called to report that their furnace had broken and they had no heat.   So, yeah, not off to a good start.

One negative covid test and several hours later, we finally made it up to the Greenberg's with extra layers of clothes.   Actually, the weather was sunny and almost 60, so it wasn't too cold inside.   Would have been much worse in Chicago!

We ended up having a delicious meal, one of the first big family gatherings that we have had at their house since covid.   

We stayed over on Thursday night, but Friday am, I took Alaina to urgent care for a throat culture since she still had a fever and a sore throat.   Negative again.   While I was gone Ethan popped a bracket off his braces eating popcorn he knew he shouldn't be eating.

Jason and I were on call on Saturday and Sunday, so we left the kids with his parents.   Alaina's cold put a damper on their plans (especially when the vomiting began), and so they mostly hung out at home.     Meanwhile, Jason and I worked....

So, yeah, not the best Thanksgiving weekend.    So it goes.

Vaccinated

 The other major event that occurred recently was that Alaina received her first Covid-19 immunization!   I was so thrilled that this was approved in her age group, and couldn't get her in fast enough!   To be honest, I am amazed that she has not brought it home from school already.   Especially now, as it looks like we are facing yet another wave.....

They had a huge pediatric clinic set up for our county and I managed to get in on the second day.   I was impressed by how organized and efficient the process was.    When the intake person asked Alaina how she was feeling, she said, "excited".  What a great response!  And other than a sore arm, she seems to have had no ill effects.    Her second shot will be in 2 weeks, and after that I will breathe a sigh of relief.

Golden Anniversary

 Last Sunday was a milestone day for Gary and Eileen--they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary!

To celebrate, we planned a family photo session--Brandon flew in for it--and then told them we would take them to Chinese food for dinner.  

Little did they know that we actually planned a surprise party for them for lunch at the Swiss Hotel in Sonoma.  

Prior to the party I was actually feeling bad because it seemed like we were ignoring this milestone day.   But of course, after the surprise, it became clear that we weren't.  And they were really surprised and happy, so it was all worth it.

The pictures went well--we got some great ones:

After the pictures, we suggested the Swiss Hotel for lunch.   The hostess brought them to the back, and there were all their friends yelling "Happy Anniversary!"

Check out the look on their faces:

About 30 people joined us for lunch outside and we were lucky to have a beautiful day.   Several people gave speeches--including the kids, and it was very sweet.   Of course, I really wanted the kids to play piano, but we couldn't bring one with!  

We had a good meal and a coffee crunch cake--their favorite!

I remember my Grandparent's 50th anniversary, and the feeling of the day being so special--it really is quite a remarkable accomplishment. So it was great to celebrate with the whole Greenberg family, and happy that they reached this day together.

Hawaiian Halloween

This past week, I traveled to Kauai, Hawaii for the fall California Society of Anesthesiologist’s meeting.   I was invited to this conference as a speaker by my department chair, and it was originally scheduled for the fall of 2020.   Of course, due to Covid, the 2020 conference was postposed until 2021.   And unfortunately, the new dates had me giving a talk at 7am in Hawaii on November 1—meaning I had to miss Halloween with the kids.   This was very sad for me, as I love trick-or-treating with them but I couldn’t really back out.    

Jason was able to take the week off to join me and my dad graciously agreed to watch the kids so we could go together.   I found friends for the kids to trick-or-treat with and we headed out of town on Saturday.

 

Turns out the kids were perfectly happy to trick-or-treat without me—Alaina came home with over 300 pieces of candy, and Ethan with over 400 (!)   Clearly, I would have brought them home when they hit 100!

 

 

Now, although the conference was in Kauai, the trip was far from relaxing.   I gave 4 talks that were each an hour long over 5 days.   It took hours and hours of preparation for each of these—and I really hate public speaking, so each talk was pretty stressful!    And, my department chair was there he whole time (we barely ate a meal without him), so I was always on my toes.

  

 

The last time we were in Kauai was when I was pregnant with Ethan in early October 2008.   Early November was really different weather-wise, with most beaches quite wavy, and the north shore completely un-swimmable (we snorkeled there last time—but didn’t even consider getting in the water this time!)  

On Tuesday I was not scheduled to talk, so we took a drive to the north side of the island to hike along the Napili coast and to a waterfall.   Truthfully, we probably should have chosen a more relaxing activity.   The hike was 9 miles, 2000 vertical feet, multiple river crossings, and through thick mud most of the time, making the going really slow and the risk of a fall quite real.   Though there were some stunning views, I am not sure that the risk: reward ratio made it worth it....

 

Overall, the conference was a good opportunity for my career, and I am thankful that I was invited to present.   But now, I am ready for a real vacation!