Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate community and unity. It’s a time to gather with friends and relatives around a beautifully-decorated dinner table, full of plates loaded with turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. It’s a special time for smiles and cheerfulness, warm fires and fallen leaves.

Unfortunately, this year was different for tons of families. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was the worst Thanksgiving by far.

But even with all the restrictions, hand sanitizers and masks, there were still moments that made this Thanksgiving memorable.

In an ordinary year, Thanksgiving would be the time I’d show dutiful gratitude for my parents, sister and cat; but this year, rightfully demanded even more from me. With all the events that have occurred in 2020, COVID being a huge one, I was reminded to be grateful for all the people in my life. It’s sad to think that some people have lost loved ones due to the pandemic, so my awareness of this fact made me all the more appreciative of my family.

My genuine appreciation for family actually helped to serve as a distraction from the stresses of Covid; I was too busy enjoying my family’s company. 

And though my grandparents were not able to join us at the dinner table, we strove to maintain a semblance of normalcy.  We still had turkey and all the amazing fall side dishes that go with it. 

We also still had dessert, thank goodness. Dessert has always been my favorite, especially fall-themed desserts, like pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie and others. 

Finally, this Thanksgiving marked a first for me: I helped cook for the first time. Though I only made cranberry sauce with my younger sister, we still had a lot of fun and I’m glad we did it.

So even in the midst of all this bad, there was some good.  I may never want to repeat this Covid Thanksgiving, but at the same time, I won’t ever forget it.