There have only been two times in my life when I wasn’t with family on Thanksgiving: The first time when I was stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama for training before being sent to Viet Nam, and the other, during my year in Viet Nam. Neither one of those times however, were as lonely as this Thanksgiving will be without family sitting at the table. It’s not that family is far away as was the case then, it’s that the whole year seems to come to a head this Thanksgiving.
Covid-19, invisible as it is, looms over our daily lives just as sure as a hurricane does over those living in its path. The reaction is just as varied and diverse as those made by people who make decisions whether to evacuate or hunker down. We’ve even had a national election based on it.
Thankfully there is hope. Three pharmaceuticals have developed a vaccine for Covid-19, and there are more coming. We’re close; just not there yet.
I think we’re all caught up in instant gratification. We’re used to, and in fact, expect things to be as we want them to be without delay or having to ask for them. It’s the entitlement mentality.
If we just stopped to breathe and look around, count our blessings, I think we’d see no matter how frustrated we are over the restrictions of Covid-19, there are a lot of folks worse off than we are: There are those who struggle with rent, food and medical costs. There are those who worry about whether the heat is going to be shutoff or the car repossessed. People are in line for food.
This Thanksgiving is going to be lonely, but it won’t be without contact – virtual of course; something I would have given a lot for in 1967 and 68.
We made the decision to have a virtual Thanksgiving because we are so close to beating Covid-19 it makes no sense to expose ourselves to others, especially those we really can’t do without.
Happy Thanksgiving!