Why This Year’s Thanksgiving is More Fulfilling

In the new norm that is 2020, we can’t expect our lives to be normal. The way we used to go about our daily routines, habits, lifestyle, everything that we used to take for granted has since been uprooted, and we have been forced to adapt to changes and adopt new rituals, many of which seem alien to us.

This year’s Thanksgiving is no exception. Every year, millions of those who celebrate this time of the year, gather together from across different states, and enjoy the ubiquitous Turkey dinner complete with stuffing, potatoes, salads and pies.

Held traditionally at my parent’s place, I meet bickering couple, uncle Joe and aunt Sally; cousin Nick who perpetually seems to be locked in an identity crisis, and his sister Ash whom I honestly can’t remember if she was once pregnant. My second cousin Dan, with his ever changing hairstyle, either dyed in a myriad of colours or shaved bald, his mother, Maya, and her fling of the year. My grand aunt, Mildred, who still calls me by my embarrassing childhood nickname, always shows up with her cold fruit pudding; my distant relative, uncle Herbert, who never fails to lament on the “good old times” and a hazily-related cousin, still living in a basement, drops by to spring on a new surprise about his latest promising endeavour.

In a normal Thanksgiving year, this would all seem like a clash of cultures, opinions and political leanings. It would be a recipe for disaster and many cringe-worthy moments. Ironically, this year, I don’t get to choose to mingle with the mixed bowl of “fruit salad”. With the pandemic surging across the US, and healthcare professionals’ warnings not to travel and gather in groups during the holidays, some have chosen the safer option of remembering this day with their immediate household members or people they live with.

But it would be a travesty not to have the same routine like we did last year. This has always been how I celebrated Thanksgiving. Compound that loss in a year that had already seen multiple losses and grief. Could it get any worse? Yes, news of three promising therapeutics bring much-needed hope to everyone. But it’ll take a while before the vaccine actually reaches the average Joe. Meanwhile, we’re still in a state, where we can’t let our guard down, and must act socially responsible, for our own safety as well as the safety of others.

I mulled over it, unsure of how to grapple with the changes, the new normal. I was sad that I couldn’t be part of the “fruit salad”, something that I had always taken for granted.

While standing in line at the checkout counter of the grocery store, I paused as I took in the surroundings; the essential workers ringing up the till, the staff replenishing items on empty shelves, the manager sprucing up the store with decorations in an attempt to infuse the holiday spirit in shoppers; these were all acts of sacrifice that they had made so we could get on with our daily lives as much as possible even during the lockdown.

To me, this was precious, heroic and courageous. Thanksgiving took on a new meaning. It was time for us to give back to them; to the doctors, nurses, medics, police, firemen and all the essential workers. It meant being thankful to them by acting in a socially responsible way.

Sure, I won’t get to see Dan and his new hairstyle, or hear uncle Herbart giving us his history lesson, but I could be thankful for the present, for not falling sick, for having essential workers showing up so that I would be safe. I could honour those who have sacrificed their lives for others, and remember the people who have lost a loved one due to the Coronavirus.

2020 hasn’t been a normal year. And by any standards. Thanksgiving shouldn’t be normal either. I choose to celebrate Thanksgiving by loving family members from afar so that they can stay safe, but at the same time, not forgetting them. There’re always telephone calls or zoom sessions, while it’s not the same, but we still get to catch up and more importantly, we’re all safe from the risk of spreading the virus unknowingly to one another.