It’s officially the holiday season. A few days ago, Thanksgiving kicked off the pandemic holidays – you know, the one where a deadly virus runs rampant, unchecked, across the nation; the one marked by a Senate that decided to go on vacation for the holidays while millions of people are about to fall off an economic cliff; the one where we have to worry about whether or not the loser clown inhabiting the White House will do something even worse than he’s managed to do already.
It was weirdly warm, too. So much so that I was walking around town in sandals. And I made the old favorites – turkey with stuffing and gravy, cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. There are so many brussels sprouts. Or, should I say, were so many. My daughter is home from school so someone other than me has been enjoying the plethora of vegetables. Her breakfast the other day was mashed potatoes and green beans in tomato sauce; the day before it was green beans and pork roll. She has been snacking on the brussels sprouts at night before bed. And wonders why she has gas.🤷
It’s been a bizarre year. We are so fortunate – we have jobs, we have food, we have our health. We have so much more than so many. For this, I am grateful.
This crap year is winding to a close and the virus trajectory is winding up, all while we attempt to bring cheer into our lives. At my house, we put up the outside decorations and will likely put up the tree🎄 this coming weekend. As is par for the course, the kitchen sink backed up the night before Thanksgiving and the plumber had to visit to snake our kitchen sink vent – apparently, we’re not supposed to use the garbage disposal to grind up potato peels or eggshells. In reality, we’re not supposed to be grinding up food with it at all, because it will just clog the pipes further down the line. Who knew? I now know that my pipes cannot handle disposal waste. Took me 20 years to figure it out. I lived my entire childhood without a disposal, I suppose I can live the rest of my life not using the one I have.
That I have a garbage disposal at all, is reason to be grateful.
I have been thinking about change a lot lately. How we’ve had so much (negative) disruption in our lives, foisted upon us. Added to, of course, the changes we have foisted upon ourselves and others in our lives and their repercussions. I know I have a tendency to become singular in my focus and my thinking, myopic, perhaps; and fail to see or acknowledge other points of view when I am in the heat of chasing down the change I wish to see happen. You know the old adage “That which disturbs you most about others is likely a trait you dislike in yourself”? Interestingly, that same principle can be attributed to change and the inherent challenges associated with change. And we tend to separate ourselves from the challenges and treat them as entities unto themselves – when the challenges are more often than not within us. Life is full of challenges, designed to make us acknowledge and uncover the hidden so we are forced to reckon with that which needs to heal. 2020 has been that kind of year.
This is really a long-winded way of saying that introspection, especially during this pandemic holiday season, has brought a lot to the fore. Certainly things which need healing. Definitely things that need changing. Discovering the real reason for requiring change.
But, most of all, many reasons for gratitude.
May your holiday season be filled with blessings and peace while the world changes, and the grace to be grateful during it all.