A COVID Thanksgiving: November Reflection

Perhaps the only comforting normalcy of 2020 is the passage of time, as like most years, March, April, and May were a slow slog, and now the final three months of the year are flashing before our eyes. October came and went and November has seen to go even faster, perhaps because of how “action packed” of a month it truly was.

For instance, it is nearly impossible to comprehend that the presidential election was this month, or that it was announced that Tom Cruise is filming a movie in space, or that Thanksgiving blinked past, and for many was the quietest holiday ever.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, like many Americans. And while I recognize the holiday’s complicated history, I mainly cherish it, selfishly, for my mom’s delicious cooking. But more importantly I love Thanksgiving because it is one of the only times of the year when I get to see my family who live miles away, and unfortunately this year that was not the case.

In accordance with COVID-19 regulations, a normal family Thanksgiving was yet another victim of this persistent pandemic. Thanksgiving was not the same. It felt smaller, less significant, and lacked the festive spirit that I love about it. I fear that the Christmas and Hanukkah season will have a similar dull feeling.

But to stop myself from being entirely pessimistic, November did also bring a major breakthrough in the search for a COVID vaccine, which seems more and more promising each day. I am cautiously optimistic that 2021 will bring better days, and that 2020 will be a milestone year, bringing about major institutional changes in government, business, education, and elsewhere.

Change and innovation do not come lightly, and I think at the end of this horrible pandemic’s tunnel may be a light of new opportunities. We shall have to wait and see.