Thursday, January 4, 2024

Covid Chronicles. Chapter 96: Christmas at the Belvidere Oasis on the Illinois Tollway

 
Read chapter 95 here
Photo by Retiring Guy

Wednesday, December 23, 2020 


Sunday’s rendezvous with Paula brought us to the Belvedere Oasis in the Illinois Toll Road, about 10 miles east of Rockford, it was the most convenient halfway point. 

“Who do you think will be coming with her?” I ask JoAnna after announced this second Covid Christmas gift exchange. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask,” she replied. “Probably Becky and Mike.” 

Her daughter and son-in-law have lived with her since they got married in October 2017. 

JoAnna had quite a few bags to transfer from under the Christmas tree to the back to the car. 

“Most of these are for the kids,” she explained. 

The kids being our 6 grand-nieces and -nephews, ranging in age from 3 months (Abby, who we have yet to see in person) to 8 (Kayla). Come to think of it, we haven’t seen 17-month-old Tilly yet, Jon and Amanda’s third child, or Harrison, Colleen’s and Allen’s second child, who was born a month before Abby. Our last visit to Wheaton took place on Thanksgiving 2019. 

With all the tables and chairs removed from the public area of the Oasis, the five of us gathered at the counter running the length of the windows over the highway. Paula looked tired and a bit distracted, feelings that even her mask couldn’t successfully cover. While 2020 has been a bad year for most of us, it has been an especially distressing one for Paula and her family. She experienced a health scare a few months ago, a problem with her liver that took some time to diagnose and treat. Sapped of energy, she struggled to stay focused on even the most basic tasks for about a month. Fortunately, she has Becky and Mike living with her and the rest of her family nearby.

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