The way this year has gone, it almost sounds like the title of this column is a joke.
Nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, I’m sorry to post this a little late – I was renewing my CBA membership, and I am thankful the CBA has rallied this year and found ways to be interesting and relevant in a year where most of the normal activities associated with the organization could not take place.
2020 seems, at this juncture, a wasted year. But no year is a waste. If you stayed alive, clearly it wasn’t a waste. If you helped out anybody who’s having a worse time of it than you how could that be a waste?
In between and during the crises of this year (whether you believe they’re “real” or not), life did occur, all around us. People got married. Babies were born. People re-discovered and re-defined their relationships. People discovered the sounds of silence in cities and towns that previously thrummed with the background noises of civilization.
If things seemed dystopian at times, well, we were thrust into major life changes in a short period of time. And we’ll never be the same. We will mourn the loss of loved ones, as well as some customs, services and businesses we used to enjoy.
But there’s still every reason to be thankful tomorrow on Thanksgiving. If you’ve had to alter your expectations, maybe even scale back – way back – on them, take a moment to consider the pleasures and treasures you did enjoy this year (so far) and raise a glass, or a tofu turkey leg, to what you’ve been through, how you changed – hopefully for the better.
And hold that glass (or that tofu turkey leg) up, against the horizon, and make a decision, a firm commitment, that you will be ready for any challenges between that day, and the next Thanksgiving!
