Winter Solstice, and Soups

First freezing snowfall and warming winter soups.

Snowy sidewalks - before I shoveled them extra well, knowing Papa would soon step out. I needn't have worried, considering how well he did.

The first measurable snowfall yesterday, and the frigid temperatures, arrived perfectly aligned to the solstice. We coped with soups at the nearest Vietnamese spot.

Bún bò Huế for Papa.

In between, I shuttled Mama Hen and Papa Rooster to an early morning appointment (that clarified my need to get more involved overseeing their affairs) and to run errands, notable for Papa's insistence on eschewing the walker in favor of using only a cane, an especially encouraging development considering the slushy and slippery sidewalks. Another sign of progress: his stamina to be out for hours. 

Maybe because he gets out and about so much less than he used to, he also demanded that we have lunch out - at the Vietnamese place near them that caters more to the local (scarcely Vietnamese - I know of only us) crowd. Mama seems sometimes slightly put off that he'd choose food below her very demanding standards for Vietnamese over home cooking, at which she excels. I'm fairly ambivalent - I suppose I've been out of the house for too long, and am ok if I get anything that resembles Vietnamese, recognizing the value of convenience and accessibility when I am unwilling to put forth the effort. Papa seems mostly drawn to lively atmospheres (he adores Applebee, where he insisted we eat last weekend; he took the walker then, when Mama thought he might need the wheelchair) - and an Instagram search to tag this place shows their strategy to fill the void of places for the millennials and Z'ers to hang out in this otherwise sleepy corner of Queens (I mean, they're in Williamsburg, too, for crying out loud).

Phở for Mama.

Anyway, we each got different soups; mine hit the spot - a warm reward for a Saturday morning's first day of Winter extra effort. All coping mechanisms for the Winter doldrums are welcome in these parts! Seasonal affective disorder is real.

Curry soup - thrilled for the vegetarian option!

As a postscript to the doldrums, Sissy, who has been in Florida for her bf's birthday, let us know that his mother was hospitalized with a suspected TIA - uncanny. 'Tis the season for parental plagues for us X'ers.

But now, the days start to get longer!! Gradually, a little more light each day.

Maybe Papa's progress can match pace (by nightfall, he was able to climb into his own bed - that of the super thick mattress set high atop the traditional box spring) and there will be another small celebration when the next solstice comes around 🤞(with a return to more normal household routines - WFH and vacation days used for working from home and vacations, or our own catch up housekeeping, rather than round the clock vigils to prevent falls and stroke-proofing the Mothership; but how thankful I am to have transitioned to a workplace where I feel supported to exercise the flexibility to participate with the sibs in all of this, and not just delegate to them). 

Papa said at lunch today that when he is recovered, he will host his friends at today's lunch spot; inshallah, as my Bird Nerd friend would say - Inshallah!