I had big plans for this week, friends!! I was going to blog every day, send some pitches out and check things off my to-do list right and left. Well, here we are — it’s Friday and this is my first blog post of the week. So you can pretty much guess how I did with those other goals…or, actually, didn’t do. But this week did get me thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season.
This Thanksgiving is going to be different. There’s no denying that, no getting around it, no pretending COVID doesn’t exist, no going on about our lives as if things were normal.
Because our lives? They’re not normal and they haven’t been for months. Nothing is normal. It’s been EIGHT MONTHS since I first wrote about COVID. Doesn’t that seem like a lifetime ago now? Eight months and, honestly, I sometimes feel like nothing has changed, especially when it comes to how people are living. People are brazen at best and unashamed at worst — proudly defying mask wearing and social distancing mandates in the name of their “freedom” while constantly putting others at risk.
I can’t with this nonsense anymore. And when I think about the holiday season, I just get even more afraid. Thanksgiving is less than a week away. There are now 252K people who will never get to spend another holiday — or ANY day — with their loved ones.
The least y’all could do is not be selfish with your holiday gatherings! What I’m seeing right now is a whole bunch of reckless and irresponsible.
Suffice it to say, I’m not looking forward to watching these irresponsible holiday shenanigans unfold on social media; I don’t want to see photos of your raucous family wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and huddled all close together around the tree. I promise, everyone will be OK without your secret-recipe pumpkin pie for one year, Aunt Karen!
If I sound a bit angry, well, it’s because I am. And I’m frustrated beyond belief. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people say “people should be able to decide what they want to do without judgment.”
But here’s the thing: No one is an island. What you do — and the germs you carry — impact other people! We need to start acting like a global community and actually care about the well-being of those around us.
The pandemic isn’t over just because you want life to be “normal” again.
We can still enjoy Thanksgiving this year, though! Create a family meeting on Zoom or do a FaceTime dessert time. Our lives may not be normal right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create new, safe traditions and enjoy ourselves!!
Just know that if you’re feeling like you’re running on empty, I see you and I’m right there with you! I’m taking the next week off to rest and recharge and I hope you can take some time for you too!
I’ll be back to regular posting on Monday, November 30th — and I’ve got an exciting collaboration coming up in early December that I’m so excited about.
Please, please stay safe, friends!! Have a lovely, happy, distant Thanksgiving!! xoxo
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Melanie says
I hear you and I get why you are angry. Here in Canada we have seen the numbers rise exponentially since our Thanksgiving and that has a lot to do with people insisting on getting together in large groups. The whole “only the old and medically compromised are at risk” doesn’t make me feel any better either because of my terminal condition and also because that is such a crappy way to view humanity. How do we get people to care about people?
Michelle says
Thank you for telling it like it is. I’ve been feeling defeated and guilty over asking my 20-something son and daughter to enjoy thanksgiving in their own homes. We need more encouragement from writings like this to reassure us that we are not alone in taking the dangers of this virus seriously!
Cheers to a safe and healthy holiday!
Rhona says
A perfect post! Thanks, Melissa—this is spot-on. Have a great Thanksgiving, knowing you’re doing the right thing for yourself, your family, your community, and beyond.
Shelly says
Yes, it is true that we all have had to change our Thanksgiving plans. However, it gives us the opportunity to give thanks for the people we are living with, the people we won’t see, but keep in our hearts, and our still thriving environment of trees and flowers.
empish says
When this virus first hit us I had already told my family I was not coming for the holidays. I had already had a feeling that we would not be able to gather by the holiday season and I was too nervous about getting on a plane to fly home. Fortunately my mother was understanding and I will be at my home for Thanksgiving. I have to say I am very concerned about what people are doing and we haven’t even gotten to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s. We are just getting started and I am worried.
Krysten Quiles says
I’m still working (veterinary clinics don’t close for pandemics, don’tcha know) and I worked in a clinic attached to a pet store. It is so gross to me watching people dawdling around like nothing is wrong. Minnesota (where I work) apparently locked back down, but you’d never know from the amount of people who just wander the pet store.
I’m also so frustrated with my own clients. We have so many ways to keep things safe where they don’t have to enter the building, and yet so many seem to come up with reasons why they have to come in. Like WHY? You have a card on file so you don’t have to come in, but you insist on coming in anyway? WHY? Why put yourself and all my coworkers and me at risk?
I am so done with this virus and this country and selfish, gross people.