COLUMN: Thankful for testing positive … at being positive
There are days when blessings never seem to arrive. They do not flow or float. They are stuck in traffic, still out for delivery, lost in translation or dressed in disguise.
In many ways, the year 2020 has been one those unforgettable years we totally want to forget. By no means has it been a keeper. It has presented us with some of the greatest challenges of our lifetimes, a firestorm of collective anxiety and disappointments. The sky has been falling since the middle of March. In a polarized world, perhaps the only thing that has united us has been our mutual misery.
It has pushed us to take longer walks with shorter strides. We have had to cover and smother our faces to confront an invisible enemy. We continue to navigate a minefield of uncertainty everywhere from college dormitories to the aisles of the grocery store.
If anyone is profiting, it could be the company now marketing a logo with the numbers “2020” representing four fingers in the shape of a fist. The first “0” is elongated to give the appearance “2020” is flipping us off with its middle finger.
As we gather for what will be a scaled-down, socially distanced version of this traditional day of giving thanks, many of us will have to carve deep to find the silver lining of the turkey. The past eight months sadly will be remembered not for what we have done but for what we did not always get to do — eat in restaurants, take vacations, attend graduations, weddings and funerals, go to festivals, camps, conferences and tournaments.
This is the 30th year I have shared my blessings, both big and small, on these pages on Thanksgiving Day. Admittedly, the words were more of a struggle this time. I had no desire to sugar-coat what has been a tough year for most.
But, on this day of gratitude, I wanted to test positive … for being positive.
It is these things for which I am thankful …
For the empty nest that has become a larger nest. In July, we welcomed our newest grandchild, Bennett Grisamore, to the world. We now have a Fab Four. Bennett is adorable, smart and wonderful. In a few months, I am certain his first word will be “Gris.’’ …
For the promising news a COVID vaccine could be on the way. And to the scientists, researchers and medical professionals who have worked tirelessly to develop and deliver it. … For people who look you in the eye when they are talking to you, a practice even more important in these times when we are discouraged from hugging and shaking hands. … For friendships that have endured the years and stretched across the miles. …
That, while some folks claim wisdom, my students tell me I have “Grisdom.’’ … For the opportunity not only to teach young people but to encourage them. In the words of John Whitehead, “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”... For fresh air, literally and figuratively. … And for a plethora of podcasts on my daily walks. …
For songbirds, love birds and early birds. ... For music that takes me on a sentimental journey, remembering where I was and who I was with when I heard it. The song remembers when. … For first responders, second chances, the Rule of Thirds and the Fourth Estate. … That even though I have been called a turkey many times, today I am not a butterball variety. …
For folks who tell their stories and trust me to share them with the wider world. … For Vitamin D, heating pads and days when some part of me doesn’t ache. … For a glass of ice water when I’m thirsty. Or, as my dad used to call it, “nature’s soft drink.” … For avocados, topped with squeezed lime juice and “Everything But the Bagel” seasoning. At my house, it’s the breakfast of champions. ….
For folks who won’t stand in the spotlight without pulling someone else in to share it with them. … For farmers, missionaries, mailmen, librarians, brick masons, caregivers, choir directors, foster parents, school nurses and friendly cashiers. … For the times when I can gaze at the clouds with a special someone and say, “That one looks a lot like. …’’
For businesses that kept the faith and stayed the course, determined to find innovative ways to keep their doors open during the pandemic. … For churches that also adapted and took creative steps to keep their ministries going. … And for families who made sacrifices to set up home schools and home offices. Work is what you do, not where you do it. ...
For red geraniums, green thumbs, orange juice, purple mountain majesties, yellow brick roads and whitecaps dancing across the top of a sea of blue. … That, for the 15th straight year, I am batting .000 at hitting a deer out on the road. … For the words of Jose Marti: “Every man should write a book, plant a tree and have a son.’’ …
That “middle C” on a tuning fork always will be “middle C.’’ And that home plate is always 17 inches wide. …
For Delinda, Ed, Grant, Jake, Summer Sterling, Brewer, Sterling Gray, Ginny Pope, Bennett and Mama Charlie. … For absent friends and guardian angels. … For a Thanksgiving prayer: “Bless the food before us, the family beside us and the love between us. Amen.”
For all your blessings, too.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Ed Grisamore teaches journalism at Stratford Academy in Macon. His column appears on Sundays in The Telegraph.