Being Thankful During A Pandemic

          It’s Thanksgiving week here in the United States, which means it’s supposed to be a time when we focus on what we’re thankful for.

          I would venture to guess it would be difficult for a lot of people to make a “thankful” list right now. I know it is for me.

          I never was a socially adept person to begin with. By the time the initial lock-down rolled around in mid-March, I was already familiar with how to communicate and learn on line. My regular writer’s group meetings and on-line classes prepared me well for what everyone else was just starting to learn.

          So when practically the entire world shut down, life for me didn’t change much. If anything, I started communicating with even more people. But, like everyone else, I have had to adapt. My vocabulary has changed to include terms I never thought I would use in everyday conversations: social-distance, shelter-in-place, flatten-the-curve, remote learning.

          Even our places of worship have adapted. As I write this, it is Sunday morning. I just “went to church” with my sister at Red Cedar Church in Okemos, Mich. Like thousands of churches, temples and synagogues throughout the world, Red Cedar’s weekly services have been live-streamed since the start of the pandemic which means I can attend those services from the security of my home four hours away in Ohio.

          This week’s focus at Red Cedar was on giving thanks during a year of loss. And, like most of my experiences, it got me thinking.

          “Loss” can be a difficult emotion to deal with. In order to lose something, you had to have had a hold of it to start with. That implies control and certainty. It has become extremely apparent that control and certainty have been in short supply during 2020.

          Or has it?

          I have written in this space several times (here, here, and here) about how we may not have control over what happens to us, but we do have control over our reactions to those experiences.

          I may not be able to point out your blessings, but I can make a list of my own. Which is exactly what I did:

          Some things I am thankful for this year:

• A safe home
• A full freezer
• The Internet
• My husband and children
• Pets that provide love and companionship
• Mail order
• Thriftbooks
• BookOutlet
• My local library
• Grocery pickup
• My health
• Laughter
• A comfortable recliner
• Piles of clean laundry that need to be folded and put away
• Telehealth visits
• Friends from all over the world
• Masterclass
• MentorBox
• Family
• PBS Kids
• My imagination
• All of you

          That last item — all of you — has probably had the biggest positive impact on my life in 2020. I doubt you can understand how important you, as a reader, are to me. I’m not being gratuitous or flippant. If it weren’t for you, I would not have faired so well this year.

          You see, I have wanted to be a “writer” my whole life. For many years, I labeled myself a journalist — telling other people’s stories, inserting myself into their lives, asking the questions (and having them answer those questions) that most people would never ask in civilized society (How did you feel when you found your daughter after she shot herself? Yes. I really did ask that question — once.)

          But when I started this blog and I started writing weekly so that other people (Read: you) could read my thoughts — that’s when, in my mind, I became a writer.

          I have all of you to thank for that.

          I know you all don’t always agree with my opinions. I know sometimes I sound like I’m a flake and a goody two-shoes. But you still come back week after week. You give me a reason to write — to show up.

          For that, I am eternally thankful.

Until next week,

Susie from Stix-n-Stonez