Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving is “My Holiday,” that is to say, it is the holiday that offers me the happy opportunity of entertaining my lovely family for our annual, ridiculously fattening, but oh-so-satisfying dinner. That Memphis family consists of my son, my sister’s children, and their families, and usually a friend or two, and I look forward every year to having them gathered in my home. Like so many others this year, however, each of our individual units is celebrating in our separate abodes to maintain some semblance of Covid safety. I’m so disappointed not to observe the holiday as usual, and I sincerely hope this abnormal circumstance doesn’t set a precedent.

At our gathering last year, one of my great-nephews interviewed each of us on-camera to talk about that, for which we were thankful. Not wanting to be too “gooey” in front of whoever was to view this recorded declaration of thankfulness, I offered some flippant response, pretty sure that anything worth being thankful for had already been presented. Ah, the difference a year makes.

What are you thankful for, Aunt Deborah? Well, where to begin, Brooks?

Who could possibly have imagined last Thanksgiving what lay ahead of us? Who could have dreamed that what we would be thankful for this year would be that so far, all of our family has been untouched by an often deadly flu that has ravaged the world?

My appreciation for nurses has long been well-known to people in my orbit. I’ve watched them in awe as they arrive at six a.m. for a shift that begins at seven a.m. And, after working like Trojans all day long, observing them leaving for home at eight or eight-thirty p.m. after a shift that should have ended at seven p.m. That was during a time before Covid-19 sent overwhelming numbers of infected patients into their care. I always suspected they were under-compensated for their hard work, but now I think they should get hazard pay for risking their lives every single day while working even more ungodly hours. My admiration for them and my gratitude toward them has grown exponentially in the last nine months.

My respect and gratitude for anyone involved in the healthcare industry, for that matter, has quadrupled during this pandemic. Doctors, nurses, technicians, therapists, administrators, clerical staff, transportation workers, food services, janitorial staff, pharmacy, information technology, electricians, plumbers, HVAC experts all put their lives at risk every day and risk infecting their own families to keep hospitals running and to try to heal the sick.

Being thankful for the produce men and women at the grocery store or the other stockers and checkers would never have occurred to me before this pandemic. Along with the people who work in pharmacies and other necessary businesses, they are literally the frontline workers right now. I’m not going in many stores of any kind—except for quick in-and-out trips—but my appreciation for the staff is renewed every time I do. I would seriously love to hug the young men and women who bring my groceries to the car when I do grocery pick-ups, but my humble gratuity will have to suffice. They’re efficient and cheerful, and I appreciate the service so much, but, no doubt, they’d much rather have the tip than a grateful hug from “a little ole elderly lady.”

Anybody involved in the public sales force right now is potentially exposed every day to Covid-19 so that I can procure those items that I deem necessary to live my comfortable life of semi-hibernation. And speaking of hibernating, I am forever grateful for the ability to continue to work at home and receive a paycheck for doing so while so many people around me have lost their jobs throughout 2020.

Selfishly, I’m grateful that I don’t have children of any age who are missing a full-time, on-campus educational experience right now. But on the other hand, I’m eternally thankful for the dedicated educators who have worked diligently to ensure quality learning in an impossibly stressful situation. Many of them have stretched their own brains and creativity to the limit to provide a comprehensive education for students who are learning partially or entirely from home. Some notable charitable organizations have stepped up to the plate to help overcome the financial burden of learning from home. I’m thankful that there are generous people in the world who care enough to fill those needs. Because of an overwhelming monetary gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the Memphis City Schools a while back, for example, children who didn’t have laptops and online capabilities can receive an equivalent learning experience during this demanding period.

I’m even a little grateful for the ridiculously stressful political upheaval that’s raged on during the entirety of the pandemic. It’s kept me in constant contact with like-minded folks, which has prevented an already reclusive personality, such as myself, from becoming a complete hermit. An occasional trip to La Michoacana Ice Cream and Paletas, where my friend Judy and I share our indulgences and visit from our respective vehicles’ safety, has helped me maintain some semblance of sanity.  Actually, I have plenty of like-minded and not-so-like-minded people in my life whose presence, from a relatively safe distance and long-distance, has made this whole bizarre nine months bearable. I’m thankful for that gift.

It’s Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, 2020, and I’m sad not to be with my family and friends for our traditional gathering, but I’m so relieved that, so far, we are all healthy and have the hope of next year’s dinner. Don’t get any big ideas about asking me then to provide an on-camera answer to what I’m thankful for, though, Brooks. This year was easy.

Deborah Fagan Carpenter, November 2020

Photo: Deborah Fagan Carpenter