Thanksgiving doesn't look the same this year

It seems like the right time to take a break from my storytelling routine to dwell for a moment on something more timely and topical.

We call it Thanksgiving…..a convenient label that too-often translates into “A gathering of the clan for fellowship, football, and turkey dinner” It has long meant all that for our family, and I’m glad for that. Memories of those warm family times are indeed special.

But if ever there was a time to move beyond that feel-good label, to dwell on the day’s true meaning…….Giving Thanks……. this is that time. Though it seems that “2020” has become synonymous with bad luck and hard times, the annual equivalent of “Friday the 13th,” I’m guessing that your year, and mine, has had its share of abundance and blessings.

For many, if not most of us, this year’s Thanksgiving celebration will be something new and different. How could it not be? Who would have imagined that our national leaders would be urging us to stay home and stay apart on the very day meant to celebrate togetherness?

Yet, together or apart, I would submit that in the face of these hard times………pandemic, politics, and economic uncertainty……..there has  never been a greater need for us to pause and give thanks for our blessings.

So, rather than dwelling on the traumatic impact of our national distress…….rather than getting bogged down in the contentious politics of assigning blame……why not take time to concentrate on the things for which we can give thanks? To be sure, your list of “reasons to be thankful” will be different than mine. But each of us is bound to have more reasons for gratitude than we sometimes acknowledge.

But, of course, our Thanksgiving, and our hopeful “looking ahead,” must be framed in realistic terms. As we celebrate the welcome promise of a Covid vaccine, we must remain vigilant during the perilous months it will take for that saving grace to reach the general population. Some things just can’t be hurried.

With that the three of us, Roma, Terry, and I, will prepare for a quiet, more intimate Thanksgiving day…..safe in the knowing that the rest of our loving clan is doing the same. Hopefully you and yours are planning a safe and satisfying Thanksgiving holiday.

Then, come Saturday morning I will again give thanks for the opportunity to continue my storytelling serialization. Needless to say, I would be thankful to have you join me on that October Years adventure.