On this holiday, say thanks after a tumultuous year -- to teachers, first responders, God
The CDC says don’t go see Mom and Dad. The experts say resist the urge to visit Grandma and Grandpa this year. The same applies to elders yearning to visit children and grandchildren.
Some say they will have virtual dinners and shared dinners by way of Zoom or Google Duo or some other technology. The vaccine is coming, but for now the CDC appeals to us to restrain ourselves and protect everyone else.
On Thanksgiving?
I’ve witnessed lines of folks pulling up to the hospitals and rapid testing centers for about $225 a pop for immediate results vs. a free test, covered by insurance, and then a 48-hour wait, when the results will be texted to our phones. Such a deal.
The folks who pay for immediate results are seeing family, and they must show those results to their children before hugging that adorable grandchild. I wish them luck and hope they are traveling by car.
Whether we are looking at our loved ones through a digital enclosure or sitting directly across from them socially distanced outside eating turkey, this year’s Thanksgiving should make us think hard about reconciliation. check on those around us, and say thank you, especially to those who take care of our health and the public’s well being.
Think about hunger. Across the nation, the number of people in lines for food is beyond belief. Give to your local food pantry today.
Second, go to church, live-streamed or in person, and give thanks to the Eternal not just for our health and our loved ones but offer petitionary prayers that God gives strength to those we know who are infected with COVID-19. Never underestimate the power of communal prayer and how it can move us to acts of loving kindness.
Third, call someone you know who might be alone this year and check on them. This is going to be especially rough on those who lost loved ones recently, whether due to COVID-19 or another cause. Taking a few minutes from your respite to check on someone will make a huge difference in their ability to get through this holiday season.
Thanksgiving has been presented to the American people as a holiday about reconciliation. Our national myths teach that the first settlers and the Indians were learning how to get along and share the land together. We know that the truth was different, but the ideal of us all getting along by taking a minute out and putting down our weapons of words in political wars and calming down the animosities on politics, even within families, is a must this year. How about a no-politics gag order for everyone at the virtual or in person Thanksgiving dinner table this year?
Next, is it too much to ask for us to take a few minutes and give thanks to first responders who are in our community’s hospitals — doctors, nurses and maintenance or food service employees — or law enforcement, such as police officers or sheriff’s deputies in Beaufort County? Yes, they are all paid to care of the sick and protect us, but sending a thank-you note or even waving at them and saying thanks for your service could mean a lot.
Let’s not forget the teachers of Beaufort County. I have a special place in my heart for teachers.
The word Rabbi means teacher. Public school teachers have been on a rollercoaster of virtual learning and then hybrid, with two days in the classroom and two days remotely. They have put their lives on the line each day for their students. The risks they take bring major stress, as they may have health concerns for themselves and their own children, as well as parents who live locally and help care for their children. I hope parents and students can take the time this year to send an e-card of thanksgiving to the teachers.
Finally, we as Americans need to take a minute to give thanks to God on Thanksgiving. We’ve been through a great deal of tumult over the last few months, and division still lingers. How about a prayer of thanksgiving that God is watching over us and the United States?
Abraham Lincoln established the tradition of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. George Washington issued the first presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving for the 26th day of November on Oct. 3, 1798 in New York City. He wrote: “That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed.”
There is a lot to do and think about this year. Let’s use our time wisely this Thanksgiving.