Julian meticulously florette'd 5 bunches of broccoli, and peeled 4 parsnips with impressive thoroughness for a 5-year-old.
Unfortunately, that was all the cooking I could do with him until well after all the kids were in bed tonight. The better part of the day was spent running around doing things I'd counted on Dave to do: dropping off children (Katrina had preschool and Gabriel wanted to attend PJ day at the CDC), picking up the turkeys and last-minute items, picking up and unloading rented tables and chairs, and a few other errands too.
Dave's really out of it, and is worse than ever tonight, though he was able to pick up kids and pizza. So I also put all the kids to bed and took care of the kitchen (even pizza needs some cleanup), then got back to work cooking.
I must point out that I brought some of this on myself: I can't just serve any old stuffing, I have to make two kinds of really really good stuffing
(including one vegetarian), that I'd planned to make before I knew Dave would be sick. I guess I could bail and make regular boxed stuffing, but I'm already committed. And if I have to do this all myself, darnit, at least I get to make the good stuff! The cooking is the fun part to me; I just wish I could enjoy it completely without the pressure of so many people forcing me to do so much ahead of time and alone; plus a sick husband.
I'm not sure how we're going to handle tomorrow; we have to set up tables and chairs for as many people as we can cram into our family room. I could do it all myself if I had enough time and focus, but I'll be tied up in the kitchen all morning -- and Katrina can easily suck away hours of energy with one of her impossible irrational tantrums. I've sent inquiries for help, and I'm sure someone will come through.
One thing for sure: future Thanksgivings will seem awfully easy!
11/25/09
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