It’s Thanksgiving break, normally a time I would be ramping up for a big family gathering, seeing friends I have missed over the course of the semester, and planning for the flurry of events that start now and end the first week of January. But these are different times.
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. We will show gratitude for life, literally as thousands of people a day are dying of COVID-19, and hundreds of thousands are becoming infected in the country. Daily. Yup, I said it. Daily. I won’t be hosting events at my home this holiday season. Zoom will continue to connect us as we keep our distance. My son is now a doctor; things happen when you pause a blog long enough. He is working in Michigan, toggling between the ICU and Emergency room. He is truly on the front lines of this fight. I listen to him when it comes to what I need to do to stay as safe as I can be. I wear a mask, I stay six-feet from my fellow humans, and I wash my hands. All. The.Time. I do it to stay safe and keep others safe.
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. My daughter and son-in-law are both educators. All three of us are teaching remotely, and have been since March 13, 2020. Two hundred and 255 days ago I walked out of my classroom, and it feels like an eternity. But we are figuring it out, I have a great support system both from my HSHMC family and from my husband. The move to online learning was abrupt and challenging. I had lots of experience using technology with students, but creating pure online instructional spaces is an entirely new thing. I am learning a ton about creating community on-line, and how to unmute myself, and encourage kids to turn on their screens… it isn’t easy, but it is so worth it. Returning to this blog was motivated by creating a writing club for my students. We are all going to publish this fall. 
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. It was a struggle at first to be home all the time. My husband and I had to come to a new rhythm, he has worked from home for years, and I now had invaded his space. We have figured it out, and I now get the see the community work he does every day that makes our neighborhood and city better. I see the day to day work it takes to care for the failing health of his dad, navigating the medical world and social distancing regulations at the senior living home to get his father the interaction and care he needs. It is daunting, and being here allows me to help support that effort as well, making this family and our marriage stronger.
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. You are forced to slow down, to stay put, to stay connected to people in new ways. I have also finally found some time this week to read that pile of magazines that have been gathering all fall. Mary Laura Philpott wrote an article for Real Simple called “A Good Quit Feels Powerful.” She struck a chord with me when she said, “The older I get, the more I find that a good quit feels powerful. Deciding what you won’t have in your life is as important as deciding what you will have.” I would add that during this time, I have let go of some things and people that no longer align with who I want to be when we get to venture back out into the world with some kind of normalcy. I am grateful for the opportunity to slow down and re-prioritize, a silver lining in a bad time I no longer want to “go back to normal”, I want to go back to better.
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. The daily news feed of politics, the pandemic, and the flurry of social media commentary can be daunting. It isn’t easy to feel gratitude when many times it feels overwhelming and frustrating just to get through the day. But I try, every day to come up with 3 things I am grateful for, the list can be simple and often is. Today it is waking up knowing my family is well, that my coffee is strong and the writing pups are snuggling beside me as I write this in my slippers.
Gratitude looks different in a pandemic. What does it look like for you?