Redefining Thanksgiving In 2020

And so Thanksgiving 2020 came to pass with a whimper, a nod and a sigh. It started out with big plans, then those plans got whittled and whittled til they were so little that after months of conversation,  there were none. There were No Plans.

And this was echoed across the land.

If you liked Agatha Christie this Thanksgiving may remind you of one of her stories that was made into a film And Then There were None. It was about 10 kids invited to an island and then they mysteriously disappeared  (Agatha Christie’s mystery is  based on a very dark nursery rhyme 10 Little Indians) And every night, one visitor got mysteriously killed off.

It was a nail biter of a mystery and haunted me to no end as a child but I loved it.

Unlike Agatha Christy’s stories, It was the plans that got murdered on Thanksgiving 2020, not the guests. Big plans became little plans or no plans at all.   

Us: “It’s just you 2 for Thanksgiving, I said to my friend this morning.”. Same with us.”

Them: “Yes, we just decided last night that it’s best if our kids don’t come. It’s just a meal and it’s too risky. We’ve been told not to travel, so we’re not and neither are they.”

And thisThanksgiving for 1 or Thanksgiving for 2 was echoed from zoom room to zoom room and it became such a common thread across the twitter-verse that anyone who couldn’t figure out how to shrug it off and feel a little gratitude, that we were lucky to have food on the table and have our health,  was quickly reminded.

And that’s how the Thanksgiving for 1 or 2 dinners became a platform for incredible creativity and positivity. Alternative ideas were hatched. And just like that, people began to share their plans that sounded nothing like the plans of last year and hopefully not the plans of next year either, but were stand alone, invented Thanksgiving 2020 plans. 

And some of those plans that will stand alone and define Thanksgiving 2020 look just like this:

1. People with no plans who didn’t travel are proud that they sacrificed their plans so they would not infect anyone outside of their households this Thanksgiving. They know they will give up hugging or kissing stray relatives. Cherished dinner partners will have all the attention and that is that.
2. Most grocery stores have no more small turkeys. The market was offering 14 pound half turkeys. Instead people started buying chickens to roast.
3. This year, there will be no negotiation about who does the dishes. 
4. There will be no kids’ table this year.  
5.  The old aunties and uncles will be included in everything. There will be zoom rooms and scheduled activities. There will be games and more. 
6. There will be a a family Zoom cook off.  And it’s not how it tastes clearly, it’s how it looks that will determine the winner. There will be a competition with each family trying to win with the best looking dessert or app, or table setting.
7. The elders and babies will be missed at our tables. There will be tears and sadness. But we will remind one another that this is a time to be hopeful.
8. There will be plenty of gratitude at this Thanksgiving and there will be toasts. But the toasts this year will be different. This year we will raise our glasses grateful that we are not contributing to spreading this virus and hopeful that our life long traditions will return next year.

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