Thanksgiving Day

The day after Thanksgiving. Two birds saved from roasting in a hot oven. Sales flooding the Internet ethers. Leftovers fill refrigerators. Empty beer bottles overflow the trashcan. Laughter and shouting heard from the den. Dishwasher on its fifth load since noon yesterday.

Yes, it is Black Friday in all its glory.

Hopefully all your family members made it safely to the epicenter of food, drink, and chaos whether by car, plane, or ZOOM. With Covid still lingering, pilots missing from aircraft, and thundersnows bombarding cities and villages across the nation, this Thanksgiving proved to be one needing a large dose of thankfulness.

With any luck, your father’s brother’s second son was unable to make an appearance: he got lost leaving the bar last night and couldn’t find the house he grew up in.

And cuz Alice’s pumpkin pies with raisins and pineapple were missing because they were still in the backseat of the rare taxi she forcefully commandeered by faking a fall in front of it and insisting she needed to be taken to the nearest medical center conveniently located across the street from the aforementioned holiday hub.

You, no doubt, noticed grandmother Ada kept adjusting her hearing aids in order to get details about your niece’s biker boyfriend being arrested for selling drugs to your mother’s uncle, an undercover cop.

Yes, your reasons for being thankful this Thanksgiving are many and varied, and I hope you avoided the dramas and traumas many holidays produce. Maybe you didn’t have a flight cancelled as you made your way to the fourth ticket counter and learned you are booked standby on a flight next Tuesday. Or you are not stuck in a snowdrift with no 4G connection and passengers who need to use a bathroom.

I do wish you a Thanksgiving filled with love, compassion, and gratitude for the life you have, the gifts you share, and the people who brighten, challenge, and embrace you.

Happy Thanksgiving.han

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