Sunday, November 28, 2021

A Final Thought about Thanksgiving

Yes, Thanksgiving 2021 is now behind us, and our holiday focus immediately shifts to the splashier of the two late-year festivals. But as I put away my relatively small amount of Thanksgiving décor this year, my grumpy pilgrims give me pause.

I bought these primitive, hand-carved items at a holiday market a few years ago and wish I knew the name of the elderly man who created them. When I spotted them nestled among a lot of Santa Claus carvings of similar size, I laughed and immediately plunked down my money to buy them. What fun conversation they would make at my table! The expressions on their wooden faces amused me. But when I unwrapped them at home, I began to wonder about the desolation that inevitably was experienced by people in the 1600s sailing across an ocean to begin new lives. People  leaving behind dear friends and family, never to see and quite possibly never to hear from them again. 

After almost two years of separation from much of my family, I am overcome with gratitude for technology as I pull the bubble wrap over the pilgrims to protect them till next year. Thank goodness for being able to instantly communicate with my loved ones whenever I want, and to see and hear them within minutes of my desire. How different from never receiving even a letter which might have been written a year earlier. Thank goodness for LinkedIn and Facebook, Zoom and WhatsApp, and the still dependable US Mail Service.  

Why did I ever complain of isolation during the worst of the Covid-19 lockdown? Thank you, Grumpy Pilgrims. You have truly made me aware of how lucky I am.
 

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