Thanksgiving is next week, and it will be different this year than ever before. Like many people, we will be staying home rather than traveling to be with family members in different parts of the country. And like them, our hearts are torn over not being able to spend the holiday with loved ones, whether they live across the street, across the country, or “over the river and through the woods,” as the old song goes.

This is also a year when many people are finding it difficult to feel grateful about anything, especially those who have lost loved ones – or their jobs or businesses – to COVID-19, or who are dealing with any of the many consequences of the pandemic. Still, remembering the things we have to be thankful for, even if we have to dig deeply to find or recognize them, is a helpful and healthy thing to do – at any time of year, but especially right now.

Thinking about that this morning put me in a reflective, poetic frame of mind. Here are some of the thoughts that occurred to me. I hope they will help you to remember and be grateful for all that we do have. And for those who will be staying home this year rather than traveling near or far to spend Thanksgiving with family, take comfort in the fact that doing so can help all of us look forward to a safe and healthy visit with our loved ones next year and in the years to come. And that is definitely something to be thankful for.

So let us give thanks if this year we are able to nourish our souls and put food on the table.
Let us give thanks as each new day arrives for those working hard to save all of our lives.
Let us give thanks for those who are trying to comfort the sick, and the sad, and the dying.
Let us give thanks for the family and friends that we’ll see once again when this all finally ends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 20, 2020
©Betty Liedtke, 2020

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