Giving Thanks

This post is coming later than I'd hoped, due to some unexpected events. I'd hoped to have a Thanksgiving blog post full of great photos, perhaps a funny story about how we dropped the turkey on the floor but served it anyway.
The apartment looked beautiful, our cleaning and work all paid off.
The meal came out nearly perfectly. The only thing I'd do differently is change my stuffing recipe. I cut the amount of fat in half (don't you think 2 sticks of butter is a lot?) and it was really dry. The kosher turkey was delicious and so easy. Christopher's father's friend (who was here) raved that it was one of the best he'd ever tasted. The unfortunate thing was that we were missing half of our guests. Christopher's family - his mother, stepfather, sister, brother-in-law and nephew - were in a car accident on their way to our place. They called us almost immediately and kept us informed of how things were progressing. We heard that the brother-in-law had broken his jaw. That he'd broken his nose. That the car was totaled. That they all rode in an ambulance together to the hospital. That the stepfather had a gash on his leg. That the brother-in-law's nose and jaw were not broken after all.And, finally, we learned that Christopher's mother had a headache. After an MRI they determined that she had some bleeding in her brain and then we heard, as we were feasting without them, that she was being airlifted to a hospital in Philadelphia that had a better neurosurgery unit.

It was hard having a celebratory meal, one we had worked so hard for, while knowing that his family was spending the day in the emergency room. At the same time, there was nothing we could do except wait for news and try to enjoy our bounty. After dinner we cleaned up and packed and then hitched a ride with my parents back to Philadelphia.

The good news is that, after two nights in the hospital, Christopher's mother has been sent home. It seems that she will be fine. And we've come back to Brooklyn to eat leftovers and try to breathe a little.