giving thanks 2020

I saw a segment on a news show the other day and it was a parent asking his three kids what they are thankful for this year. They thought about it for a minute and then one of them said “I can’t really think of anything but I can think of what was hard this year”. It was honest and probably what many others feel in this very difficult time. Then the father put on a short video of people standing in line at a food bank. A journalist walked through the line and asked a few of them if they were thankful for anything this year and each one had many things they wanted to share. The video ended and it cut back to the kids. You could see a look on their face as thoughts started churning in their heads and they reconsidered their answer. It was a visual glass turning from half empty to half full.

This has been no doubt a terrible year for so many reasons and it’s exhausting. It seems like it’s been a year of pile on of one negative thing on top of the other. So this years Thanksgiving may be a more difficult one for many. But it has also for me, really put to the forefront of how lucky I am and all that I am thankful for. The people in my life are so loving and supportive and are there for me at every turn. Although I have Parkinson’s, I’m incredibly lucky that it’s a disease where I can still live a long and meaningful life. The pandemic has been like nothing I’ve ever seen in my lifetime but in reading about pandemics in the past, I’m thankful that it wasn’t worse. I have a home and lots of food and want for nothing, which many people don’t have.

Thanksgiving this year will be a small affair for us but I think the things that I’m thankful for this year are much more in number and intensity this year. I’m thankful to you for reading my blog. The collective energy of our PD community brings me absolute joy to know that there are others who share our journey together. If you’re spending thanksgiving with others, I hope you enjoy a delicious meal with all your holiday favorites. If you’re spending thanksgiving for one, do what we all really want to do, and have dessert first! Then with any room you may have left over eat something else. Trust me, you won’t regret it and secretly we’ll all be jealous that you did. I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

(image source: Zoe Bakes)