Friday, November 27, 2020

Post-Thanksgiving gratitude by Peggy Jaeger

 Yesterday, here in the lower 48 ( heehee) + Alaska and Hawaii, it was Thanksgiving. This year's holiday was like no other in any of our memories. The last pandemic was over 100 years ago, so no one really remembers what Thanksgiving 1918 was like.

But we will remember this year's holiday. We'll be talking about Thanksgiving 2020 for years to come - to our grandkids who may be too small now to have memories of the upside down world we now live in; in decades retrospectives on New Year's Eves to come; even in books about this time period which will one day be called "historical."

This was the first Thanksgiving in my 60 years that I spent away from most of my family. We're being responsible and since my daughter lives in a state with travel restrictions - as do hubby and I - we made the decision to stay home, stay safe, and do our part to prevent this scourge from spreading.

And it was hard.

Really hard.

But it made us reflect on what's really important. When all is said and done, it's family that matters more than anything else.



 If I can say one good thing about this pandemic - and believe me I can only say 1 good thing about this pandemic - it's that by staying home and staying safe, we've all come to realize the importance of the people in our lives. Yes we are all missing things - going out to dinner, seeing a movie, therapy shopping. But they are just things. It's the people who matter the most. Not being able to see my daughter yesterday means that I made it safe to see her in the future. By staying away, now, we will all be able to be together later on because we will all still be here, alive and well.

My husband and I typically go to mass on Thanksgiving morning, this year no exception. Yes, we wore our masks. Yes, we socially distanced as per church and state guidelines. And yes, I said a prayer for all those close to me and for our world in general. And I said a big thanks to God for giving us the courage and strength to weather this stressful time.

Rose Kennedy is credited with saying, after her oldest son was killed in WWII, that she knew God would never give her a burden too heavy for her to carry. This pandemic is a burden to the world and I feel that we have the strength to get through it and come out on the other side stronger and more thankful.

So. No book promo from me today, even though it's Black Friday and I've got 3 new books out ( hee hee and hint hint!) Just a simple moment of gratitude and thanks, instead.




See you next month peeps. ~ Peg 

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful post! Thanks for sharing, Peggy :)

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  2. My husband and I stayed home. I brought out the good china. We Face-timed with our children and grandchildren. We're hoping Christmas will be different. If not, I'll shove the gifts outside the front door for them to take home.

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  3. Peggy, a heartwarming blog that reminds us of what's important.

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  4. We stayed home and felt good that we were doing our part to keep our loved ones safe. Sensible and heartwarming post, Peggy.

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  5. Lovely, Peggy. We were "home alone," too, connected by a string of family messages that is still going on. It was a good day, and it sounds like yours was, too. Like Caroline says, "what's important," and it's encouraging that so many people have figured it out.

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