Well, here we are. Thanksgiving 2020. Some might say that’s an oxymoron. This year has taken quite the ribbing from all of us. The lockdowns, toilet paper situations, a hurricane season that required two alphabets, and the most insane election season on record. The murder hornets never came, but 2020 is the gift that just keeps on giving, isn’t it? With every thing that has gone wrong, we’ve just learned to expect no less from this hellacious calendar year.  

Carson will be home tomorrow night for Thanksgiving. Actually, he’ll be home until January. Yes, the boy, who wants to know what we’re having for all three meals as soon as his feet hit the floor, is coming home for 6 weeks. This means I have to step up my cooking game. Or start it up might be the more appropriate wording as I haven’t cooked much since Covid struck. This should be an extended time of fun for me. 

I’ve put up our Christmas tree, which is something I never do before Thanksgiving. I’ve got pumpkins, cones, pilgrims, gourds, acorns, turkeys, squirrels, and berries adorning the whole house and there sits the Christmas tree in the midst of it all. I’m almost embarrassed- like I want to throw a sheet over it until next week. I only put it up because we’re going to the mountains on Friday and I have so much going on when we get home. I was trying to get a head start, but it just doesn’t feel right. It’s 2020, so I guess anything that doesn’t feel right is fitting. 

Probably like you, our annual Thanksgiving plans have been altered this year. Davis’ family is very small, so that celebration won’t require any tweaking, but my extended family is a different story. We decided that having 50 people come together from different cities, colleges, schools, and workplaces- probably wouldn’t be such a good idea, this time around. Like most families, we have some among us who we want to especially protect, so the four branches of the family tree will celebrate separately- making this Thanksgiving look a lot different than all the others. I’m sure there’s been one, at some point, but I don’t remember a Thanksgiving that I didn’t spend with my aunts, uncles, and a house full of cousins. I will certainly miss that. 

Our branch is celebrating here at our house. My mother, brothers, and sisters-in law are coming and also any of the children who aren’t going to be with their in-laws. This is a first for me to host Thanksgiving. That’s a whole different level of hosting, you know. I tried to manage expectations by calling it our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Coming into it, if the guests have images of ping pong tables, mismatched beach chairs, toast, and popcorn then surely those are expectations that even I can exceed. That was my strategy. To set the bar low. And I’m confessing right here on the World Wide Web that I’m not following CDC guidelines and asking the guests to bring their own food, plates, and utensils. When I saw that, I had to cackle out loud. I mean, we’re going to have a laid back affair, but not so laid back that you’re going to need to box up your dishes and bag your own turkey to join us. If the weather agrees, I’m hoping to set the tables outside. My sugar maple tree should be at peak color to help with the centerpieces. My mother is bringing her caramel cake, which has forever ruined everyone else’s caramel cake for me. Heaven on a plate. And I’m sure a football will be flying through the air before the day is done. 

The menu won’t be exactly the same. The food table won’t be as sprawling. The crowd won’t be as large. The location will be different. The time of day will be different. Everything will be different. Nothing will be the same. Just like the rest of the year has been. But, there is good in all of this. Maybe we’re just being shown our blessings from a different angle. In all this absence, we’re learning to appreciate the gift of presence. Maybe in the sickness, we’ve placed more value on health. In these unsettled times, we might have become more grateful for the ordinary day. Maybe when we aren’t as prosperous, we can learn what’s really valuable. In our loss of control, we may just find peace in knowing He has it. And maybe it’s only when this life seems fragile or is hanging by a thread that we fully appreciate the gift of eternal life in our heavenly home. 

Nothing is the same, this year. But maybe that’s the point. To see our blessings from another vantage point. Always looking at things from the same old place can dull their splendor.  

I am thankful for you! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!