Thanksgiving (Canada)

Thursday October 8th 2020

So with our Canadian Thanksgivings just a few days off, and with our province at the beginning of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, this thanksgiving will be very very different.

Because of life choices we have made, we have only been able to spend one thanksgiving with our family for a number of years. So the provincial rules restricting celebrations to those only in our household only is not a new experience for us, don’t get me wrong we would love to have family time no different than any one else, but it’s not going to happen this year. I have not even been able to see my family all summer, no this is just not the year to risk spreading this horrid virus, especially to family and friends.

So one might ask what do we possibly have to be thankful for in this year that has been dominated by the coronavirus. Well I think the list is longer than you might expect, first and for most has to be our health, we have so far avoided contracting the virus, and with all the hand washing and sanitizing, have avoided any colds so far. Secondly none of our family or friends have been negatively effected financially, too much by the effects of the lockdowns or restrictions caused by the pandemic. Next we have learned to be thankful for all the methods of staying in touch with family and friends, like seriously who had even heard of Zoom calls before 2020. And last but certainly not least we have become very thankful for our Canadian heritage, as we watch what goes on in other countries around the world, and realize how well we have done as a country, our leadership, our healthcare, and all those people that have been there to care for us during these hard times. I’m not just talking about the healthcare workers, but those poor souls that are just making minimum wage, and putting up with all the inconsiderate individuals that don’t care about anyone but themselves, and we have seen all kinds of them.

So I will be looking back on the past few years to remember what we are thankful for, a What-a-burger enjoyed in a parking lot with new friends in Tucson, or be it a dinner with our Canadian “Q” family in Ehrenberg, or lunch with friends in Las Vegas, or the Christmas potluck with friends in Why, or the Cracker Barrel American thanksgiving in El Mirage with some of our RV family, and let’s not forget that Tomahawk steak barbecued to perfection and enjoyed with more of our extended family in Pemberville. So as you can see our list of things to be thankful for is indeed very long and we are so very blessed to have so many family and friends. Do we miss them? We can’t even start to explain how much, we would love to spend thanksgiving with them all. But we can not this year, it’s just that plain and simple, because we love and care for them that much, we will spend this thanksgiving apart this year.

It is sad to hear so many saying how unfair it is, that they can not be with family this year for this thanksgiving. But most of them are the reason we are in the second wave of the pandemic, you know the ones that stretch the rules, have multiple social circles and the like. We have just watched how fast it spread through the Whitehouse with dozens of people now infected, and why you might ask, because a few selfish, better than the rest, thought the guidelines shouldn’t apply to them … just saying.

To our family and friends we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and although we will be apart physically, you will be close by in our hearts, and we will be together as soon as we are allowed. Until then be well, stay strong, take care of one another and remember how blessed we really all are.