The writer is a native of Bacolod City. She now resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Around this time last year, the entire country was abuzz with activities and the frenzy that came with preparing for the annual holiday of gratitude, celebrating Thanksgiving. A bitter contrast to our reality now that is akin to an unsavory out-of-body experience, a nightmare that’s been playing out for so long.
What a difference a year makes, right?
Last year’s Thanksgiving for my family meant preparing for my mother’s arrival in Los Angeles from Bacolod City three days before the said holiday. She came just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving 2019 with our two girls before we flew back to Chicago where my husband and I live. She arrived safely in the U.S. after traveling by herself like a trooper. At 87, that was quite a feat!
This year, however, a different picture has been painted for us and depending on how well you have adjusted to the world being upended by the pandemic, the thought of duplicating the excitement in preparing for a Thanksgiving celebration — on Thursday, Nov. 26 –may be the last thing people would want to do at this time.
Although one can argue that we do not need an official day to celebrate being grateful and it should be an all-year thing, in the U.S., the centuries-old tradition – and history – directs us to celebrate and honor the importance and significance of this holiday.
Beyond the trappings of a gastronomical feast, Thanksgiving signals the beginning of the holiday season with Christmas and New Year only a few weeks away. It showcases the cooking mania that ensues when secret family recipes come to life, when a 22-pound (or less) turkey is thawed and gingerly baked or deep-fried, and when ample side dishes generously dot table after table while families gather to build deeper or patch up relationships.
Thanksgiving serves as a great reminder that although the year is quickly coming to a close, there’s still time to hit the pause button, reflect on the year and shine the light on what we are grateful for.
In a sense, the pandemic and all the mitigations that are in place have forced us to look within our selves and acknowledge the things in our lives that are out of alignment, off tangent and skewed, if you will, and work through our fears to embrace our ways wholeheartedly so we can all get back on track and help the world heal.
For over nine months now, millions of us have limited our movement, including my mother who is “stranded” in America after her two scheduled return flights were canceled.
Looking at the big picture and knowing how Thanksgiving this year has taken a different visual and emotional tone, the scaled-down simplicity of life as we know it and having to grapple with our “new normal” for what feels like an eternity, we should maybe turn our attention to what really matters.
We are now given the stage to do more good, to be kinder, to be less materialistic, to be more compassionate, to be of service to others and to live life to the fullest. Although our vulnerability has been exposed, now is also an opportunity to consider better options to live our best lives.
Stripped of the noise of the pre-pandemic days, this year’s Thanksgiving celebration may yet be the best one for me. I’ll for sure raise a turkey leg for good measure!
