When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday of the year, and it still is today. For me it is a day when, for a brief moment in time, the man who I am today stops and remembers that kid who I used to be a long time ago. In a way, it’s comforting to know that he’s alive and well and still living inside of me. I hope that I never lose him. I loved everything about Thanksgiving and the warm and happy feeling that it brought to me each third Thursday in November. As I say, I’m grateful that those indelible images of long-ago and far-away Thanksgiving days that still meander through the corridors of my memory; grateful that still come back to visit.

The video that plays in my head remains pristine. I see my mother, just as she looked when I was 12 years old; untouched by time. I see her getting up at an ungodly hour to make the turkey, and the succulent aroma of it drifting through the house. The traditional Turkey Day football games were, for that one moment in time, a day belonged exclusively to the high school players. As I write this, there’s a faded scene of sitting at the family table, and of being happy to be in the moment together. I still see myself as a boy sitting there and harboring the secret fear that my sister would take all of the gravy before it got to me. Times change, and yet we still keep the spirt of Thanksgiving alive by holding on to those timeworn memories while making our own new traditions. It’s a part of the cycle of life.

This holiday season all of us will need to give a great deal of thought to what truly matters most to us, and what we are celebrating in the here and now. The world has obviously changed dramatically as we continue to be caught in swirling maelstrom of the coronavirus. We are living through a nightmarish time that has seen this insidious demon take the lives of over a quarter of a million Americans. It has stolen friends and loved ones away from us forever in such a cruel way. The loss of a single life is too much, however, loss and heartbreak that has been spawned on such a grand scale as a direct result of COVID-19 will see far too many empty chairs around family tables all across this country.

In the face of this new and very different Thanksgiving observance, the pandemic can’t stop us from giving thanks, for being grateful for what we do have in our lives, and in sharing our love for family and good friends.

Even in the midst of trying to cope with this beast called Covid-19 where Dr. Anthony Fauci, perhaps this nation’s most credible and respected infectious disease expert, is urging all of us to show caution and common sense this holiday season, there is still much to be thankful for. The fact that our most brilliant medical science professionals have developed a vaccine that would normally take years in only nine months is indeed a stunning achievement. Being thankful for such a momentous medical breakthrough is right at the top of my list. However, even as we bask in the glow of the distribution of a vaccine being so close at hand, this Thanksgiving will be different.

For as painful as social distancing may be too many of us, all of us can still enjoy the holiday season in a virtual setting while staying safe. Although it might not feel like it to some, the technology that allows us to see loved one, be it on a screen, is something else to give thanks for. It still gives us the chance to celebrate while being thankful for many things in our lives that we might overlook during the rest of the year. Be it sitting next to each other around the table or celebrating it as a zoom gathering, Thanksgiving still reflects that bond of interconnectedness among us. I believe that we all seek to reinforce our unity, our feelings of warmth and love, and our connection to each other. Thanksgiving is at the heart of doing this. However, perhaps biting the bullet and being safe and prudent this Thanksgiving will ensure that we can be with family and loved ones next Thanksgiving. That’s something else to give thanks for.

When all is said and done, I simply can’t imagine us, as a society, not having the eyes with which to see the bounties and blessings that we enjoy. I can’t see our society being devoid of the humanity that has always defined us as a people. Thanksgiving is an integral thread that runs through the fabric of American culture as it offers us a platform to express our gratitude, and to look at the glass of life as being half full.

To reiterate, Thanksgiving is that one Thursday in the year when, no matter how grown up we’ve become across the years, we have always made the journey back home to be with family and friends around the dinner table once more. It is a time whose warm glow is a catalyst that renews our collective spirit. There has always been a hint of magic in the holiday air that paints smiles on our faces just like it did for children who we once were so long ago. The image of gathering around the table over heaping plates of turkey, bowls of gravy-slathered mashed potatoes, a seemingly endless array of pies, large glasses of apple cider, and plenty of leftovers at the end of the day is timeless. I’m so thankful for those moments in my life, and I hope that we can all be grateful for the happy moments we’ve been blessed with.

So even if this year we might not be going over of the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house, we can all still give thanks for so many things that we overlook all through the rush of the year. We can still look at the glass of life as being half full. For me, I know that the little boy who still lives inside of the man I am today will still be there waiting for me next Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for that.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.

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