Thanksgiving Traditions & Hugs Instead of Tugs

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just days away.

I’ve been so busy……doing what?

During this pandemic, the days all flow together like the residual watercolor paints left in my pan—useful to some extent, but washed out.

I’ve tried to stay positive during the pandemic.

Like most celebrations this year, Thanksgiving will differ from in the past. Families—the heart of holiday celebrations—won’t be able to gather safely. Currently, there are 11.5 million people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States, nearly a quarter million of those people have died, and the cases are increasing, not decreasing.

Now is not the time to gather en masse.

In 2020, the greatest gift you can give your family is absence.

Maybe the only thing we can do is carry on with as much of our traditions as we can.

Before the pandemic, I had planned to reinvent my Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to say farewell to turkey on a menu carved in stone. I wanted to introduce something different. I had planned on scouring recipe books and pouring over Pinterest to create a new, updated tradition. I wanted to modernize the meal. A typical, albeit traditional Thanksgiving feast just felt stale.

But then the pandemic hit, and now tradition feels more important than ever.

Suddenly, turkey, cornbread-sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy,  homemade cranberry sauce, streusel sweet potatoes, honey thyme biscuits, and pecan pie with homemade whipped cream are what we need.

This year, I crave tradition.

And hugs.

Hugs are familiar. Hugs are home. Hugs are happiness.

They serve as a life force. Without them, I can survive, sure, but I wither a bit.

One hug from my kids and grandkids can sustain me for a long time. I know this because I haven’t hugged them for months and months and somehow, I’m still here.

And this year, politics pitted relationships. I heard some families broke up. I know some friends who unfriended others. I get it. I’m passionate and outspoken on the subject more than most and had some heated debates. But, I’m glad that we are all passionate, because that means we care. And as long as we care, there is hope.

Maybe what we need now is a hug.

I will not play tug o’ war.

I’d rather play hug o’ war.

Where everyone hugs instead of tugs. Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug.

Where everyone kisses and everyone grins and everyone cuddles and everyone wins.”

– Shel Silverstein

But until we can hug, we carry on.

I’m thankful for all my past Thanksgivings.  Here’s a sampling (hover for caption; click for a slideshow):

“Thankful” Thanksgiving, 2017

 

 

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“Driftwood” Thanksgiving, 2018

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“Bee Thankful” Thanksgiving, 2019

So, let us revel in tradition. Bring on the turkey and all the usual fixin’s.

Let’s put as much effort into our festivities this year as all the others.

Let’s rejoice in the positive and be thankful from afar.

Every year, I spend several weeks if not months, preparing for Thanksgiving. I choose a theme for decorations. I make gifts for every guest. My goal is always to create magic. But the truth is, the magic is family.

At our house this year, instead of our usual 20-30 guests, Ron and I will dine with Ron’s parents. ♥ We will wear our masks while nibbling hors d’oeuvres. We’ll sip our wine during mask calisthenics. We’ll dine outside under the gazebo (the best investment to our home we’ve made to date), spaced the requisite 6 ft. apart. We’ll add a roaring fire between us for good measure, kick back, and sip homemade hot buttered rums.

And it will be lovely.

Different, but lovely.

We’ll be thankful for our good health and each other.

We’ll zoom our virtual hugs to the rest of our family and blow kisses to the screen. We’ll be thankful for technology.

It will be special.

It will be memorable.

And I’ll be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Be well. Be happy. Be thankful.

XOXO

♥