A different Thanksgiving Day, is it?

We are currently experiencing a pandemic, but Thanksgiving Day is here. Is it different?

Just like every year, Thanksgiving is a day where we spend time with family and friends. We gather around the table for a traditional meal like turkey and pumpkin pie. Everybody comes together to cook, to chat, and to bless the food in the lovely dining table set up for everyone as well as to enjoy each other. I am thankful for a lot of things including, my family, friends, a roof over my head, a job, the air that I breathe, love and support I received from people I care about.

Our Thanksgiving Day is different this year because of the pandemic. We are to keep our gatherings small and virtual dinner is also encouraged. A little weird, but hey, we have been doing this virtual set up since March, so it is not new, in all honesty. Our leaders asked us to keep the event to our immediate family by maintaining our bubble small. It is still risky to have an indoor gathering of more than ten people. They even asked us to make it entirely a virtual experience, to which some families have been doing since March. I am unsure if everyone is used to it by now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yearly, I would get an invite from friends. I still received invites this year, but I also wanted to be considerate of other people's social bubble. The anxiety was creeping a bit. I enjoy having to catch up with friends while we enjoy the sumptuous meal prepared for everyone. The laughter, the overflowing drinks, and the giggles of the kids playing in the backyard. The music and the pacing of yourself with food always bring joy to everyone. It does not matter whether we have a large group of people or a small number of people gathered in the table. We are thankful for each other and the time we spend together.

Thanksgiving is not only a feast where we make new memories and spend time together. It is also an excellent opportunity to explore what it means to celebrate. Although we are living in a world where COVID-19 is plaguing every life in the world, we still have to do a celebration, and today should be no different. This 2020 Thanksgiving, more than any other, should be more meaningful. Gratitude should be front and centre. Let us find all the reasons to be thankful and blessed. You might be in a household where you have to do your isolation. Maybe you are at home waiting for the restriction announcements so you can visit your parents in the nursing home. You are probably dealing with grief and loss from a recent death in the family. Those things as heartbreaking as it sounds; we have to be resilient. I am not taking away the sadness and the vulnerability that comes with it. However, I still encourage everyone to be guided by gratitude.

Some would say the world is crap right now. I get it, but when life seems dreadful, to recognize the good, we need the bad. Right now, we are looking at the bad. Gratitude is hard to sustain, especially when a lot is going in your life. Trials and tribulations can plague us emotionally, and it leads to more issues. Even though the ask is to have a limited number of people at our table, it is equally critical to be reaching out to our family via a phone call or a zoom invites. The social isolation and depression are noticeable nowadays.

We have to maintain that social connection.

Thanksgiving is not only a feast where we make new memories and spend time together. It is also an excellent opportunity to explore what it means to celebrate.

Thanksgiving Day has taught me to appreciate the abundant blessings I have received in my life. Up to this day, despite all the trepidations I am experiencing. I remain appreciative. No, I am not having my turkey this year, but I enjoyed my bulgogi and Korean bbq dinner the other night. No matter what is at your table, the spirit of Thanksgiving should focus on the positives in our lives. The connection that we continue to maintain in the last six-seven months of our lives during these trying times.

This Thanksgiving Day, what are you thankful for?