Beyond the Byline: A Thanksgiving like no other

WILKES-BARRE — The 2020 Thanksgiving will not be traditional in any way.

For our entire lives, we have all sat around a big family table, held hands and we have given thanks for all that we have.

In this pandemic year that we have all struggled through, we will, indeed, give thanks again — but for many of us, it will be a virtual celebration.

We will Skype, Facetime, call, text, whatever — and we will do what we have done since this damn virus came to our doorstep — we will cope.

And we will be angry. And we will be frustrated. And we will long for those good old days of normalcy, of tradition and of making new memories.

But this year, we will thrive on those memories of much better times.

We will remember our family celebrations — the big table, filled with mom and dad and brother and sister and aunt and uncle and cousins and friends.

We will remember waiting patiently for the mashed potatoes to be passed to us, then the turkey, the ham, the stuffing — oh, the stuffing — the gravy, the cranberry sauce, the sweet potatoes. And a pickle or radish off the special tray that mom prepared so carefully. The family dog will be there, waiting for something — anything — to fall to the floor.

We will remember holding hands and a prayer and our chorus of Amens and thanks for all we have.

We will remember the fancy tablecloth only used for these special occasions. We will remember the aroma of all that delicious food so painstakingly prepared on that big coal stove. And we will savor the memory of every morsel of food as it is consumed.

Then we will remember the apple pie, or pumpkin pie with ice cream or whipped cream. We will recall the comforting aroma of the brewing coffee.

And we will remember moving to the living room to watch the football games and to loosen our pants. And we will remember the clanging of dishes as the cleaning up progressed and the running of water. We will remember the conversations of everyone in attendance. We will listen and marvel at the vast knowledge of our parents, aunts, uncles and even our cousins on just about every topic of the day.

And before the day becomes evening, we will listen to the plans being made for Christmas. Some will proudly say they have completed their shopping, others have yet to begin. Some will ask for help, having absolutely no idea what to get Uncle Jim or Aunt Barbara or, the most difficult of all, Cousin Billy.

We remember the house being decorated for the holidays. We will notice the train platform in the corner, awaiting the arrival of the Douglas fir to be purchased at Last Chance in about a week or so.

We remember hoping for snow on Christmas Eve and we will ask who is going to Midnight Mass.

Yes, this year we will remember those days as we try to put the best possible face on a very difficult time.

We all have in common the same wish list for Christmas this year — that elusive return to normalcy.

But we will also come to know that despite the pandemic and all that it has wrought, we are still who we were before. We are the same people with the same families with the same traditions and the same anticipation of a holiday season rapidly approaching.

With a vaccine coming, we can see light at the end of this pandemic tunnel.

Until then, make the best out of it all.

Have the best possible Thanksgiving and the very merriest Christmas season.