Al Roker Shares ‘Favorite Family Tradition’ for the Holidays After Release from Hospital

Al Roker is reflecting on his favorite parts of Christmas as he appreciates being home for the holidays after four weeks of being in and out of the hospital being treated for blood clots in his legs and lungs. The TODAY show weatherman, 68, opened up about his favorite family tradition on the NBC morning show before celebrating with his wife, Deborah Roberts, 62, and their children – daughter Leila, 24, and son Nick, 20.

“My favorite family tradition is not everybody fighting. That’s a great thing,” he said. “If that happens – you can get your adult children together and their significant others and everything is fine? Win-win.” Roker noted that it’s extra special to not have young children during the holiday season, as he’s not scouring the stores for the hot holiday toy or waking up early on Christmas Day.

“My kids – look, it’s different now that they’re older,” Roker said. “Holiday shopping becomes much simpler. They’re not looking for the hot toy or anything like that.” He added that he no longer has to get up “at 6 a.m. in the morning because the little ones are up,” noting that now it’s “‘Oh, we’ll get up around 9 o’clock.’ And that’s just great.”

Roker checked in with the TODAY family last week as well, giving his colleagues an update on his health after first being hospitalized ahead of Thanksgiving. “It’s been a tough slog, I’m not going to deny this,” Roker said at the time. “This has been the hardest one yet – and you know, I’ve had my fair share of surgeries. But it gives you a profound sense of gratitude for this outpouring of prayers and thanks. I’m a very fortunate person.”

Roker noted he feels “good” and “strong,” and that every day he feels “a little bit better.” As for when he’ll be returning to work, Roker said he’ll need more time to recover. “You lose a certain amount of muscle mass for every week you’re in the hospital, and I was in the hospital for 4 weeks. So it’s just a certain amount of weakness,” said Roker, who is undergoing physical and occupational therapy. “I’ve got to just get my strength back. And in the meantime, I was thinking in January of getting my knee replaced, so I’ve got to push that back. So I’ve got a number of issues.” He continued, “I just feel like, it’s going to be a little bit of a slog but a lot of people have to deal with a lot more with a lot fewer resources. I’m very fortunate, very blessed to be able to have these resources.”