A Plan B Holiday Season!

I mentioned here last month that we had to cancel our Thanksgiving week plans to travel and see family because my college son came home sick with mono that week (on top of his ME/CFS, Lyme, and other tick infections). Well, now we've had to cancel two more trips! When I wake up feeling bad and have to cancel my plans for the day, I usually call it a Plan B Day (my way of coping and adjusting), but this is turning out to be an entire Plan B holiday season!

Staying home for Thanksgiving turned out to be a doubly good thing when my husband came down with the flu and spent a full week in his recliner. One week later, my 16-year old son came home from a soccer tournament with a concussion. We took him to Urgent Care the next morning but weren't too worried - we figured his headache would clear up in a day or two. Two weeks later, we took him to a special Concussion Clinic in our area to see our local specialist.

All in all, our younger son missed two weeks of school - he returned this week for the last day and a half before winter break. Medication prescribed by the concussion specialist helped his headache go away, but even short car rides make him motion sick. The specialist told us last week no car rides over 15 minutes.

So, we once again found ourselves cancelling travel plans - both our weekend plans to travel to CT to celebrate Christmas with our family (I invited them here instead, but they declined - a long story) and also our long-planned vacation in the Florida Keys this week and next. We were supposed to leave the morning after Christmas for a 20-hour drive! Yeah, way out of the question.

So, as always, we are trying to roll with the changes and make the best of things. Our older son is finally showing small signs of improvement after a month home sick - he managed two social activities at our house this past weekend - and our younger son seems to get better every day, as he recovers from his concussion.

The chance to spend the full holiday season relaxed at home is actually a rare opportunity. We normally leave for Oklahoma the day after Christmas to visit my father-in-law. We just moved him out here near us this fall (hence, the rare December vacation plans!), so it's been more than 10 years since we stayed home for New Year's Eve and weren't traveling the week after Christmas. The kids are glad to have some time during the break with their friends. And I am looking forward to starting off the new year not exhausted from travel and with a pile of unpacking and dirty laundry to face!

Hope you are also ready to enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends, no matter what life (or ME/CFS) throws at you!

Our annual Cookie/Grinch party with our oldest friends, a favorite holiday tradition!