Thanksgiving in a Pandemic

                                    Thanksgiving in a pandemic

This has been a decidedly different kind of year for all of us.  My Thanksgiving certainly was not my norm.    This holiday has always been my favorite; not for the story of the Pilgrims as that does carry with it the demise of the indigenous people of this continent, but because it has always been about sharing a meal, sharing time with friends and family, taking time for the things for which we are thankful, but without all the pressures of Christmas.  

This year I had Thanksgiving alone.  Well, not quite as I was surrounded by the sounds and sights of over a dozen variety of birds, some of which have become so accustomed to me that they stayed less than the required 6 feet away.

I ordered a meal from a restaurant.  After all, I do love all the Thanksgiving foods, but cooking them for one seemed a bit much.   I set colorful cloth placemats and napkin on my patio table, and sat looking out at the view.   With my new hearing aids, I was well aware of all the feathered neighbors, not just the ones I could see but the ones in the trees or otherwise not in view.

The meal was great, with enough for the best part, turkey and cranberry etc. sandwich the next day.  I poured myself a glass of Pinot Grigio, and sat down.  I found that alone, I could take more time to think about the things for which I am thankful, to think about the people who

are important to me and the things in this world I love.  While next year I hope we will all be able to gather with loved ones again, I think that this year was its own kind of blessing.

I had a long phone conversation with an old friend from early full-time RVing days, a zoom conversations with some of the folks from the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Fresno, lots of emails and Facebook messages.  It was a good day.  

Here are some of the friends I shared it with:

Bush Tits don't socially distance