What are you thankful for? That is the question commonly asked on Thanksgiving. Over the years, although the question has stayed the same, my answer has grown complex as my experiences have expanded and my perspective has changed. While I am thankful for the same things I was thankful for as a child, and the list of things I am thankful for today is greater than when I was younger, I have found it increasingly difficult to appreciate the things I do have when I have been made more and more aware of life’s challenges.
The main thing I have been thankful for throughout my life, and continue to appreciate, is my family–including my extended family. We are all super close and a few years ago, when my uncle–my mother’s brother–suddenly passed away, we were all thrown for a loop. Then, the whole world was hit with the Covid-19 pandemic, and like the rest of the world, we were unable to have family gatherings in the same way we used to. Finally, it was 2022, and we were hopeful that things would start to improve and even somewhat resemble how things used to be. Now it is November of 2022 and my aunt–my mother’s younger sister–is suffering a debilitating illness that is continuing to worsen with the few answers we do have from doctors not being great.
During Thanksgiving, it is difficult to notice the things you are thankful for when the things you are very much not thankful for are right in front of you. At the thanksgiving meal, my aunt was not there because the illness made it too difficult for her to attend. This thanksgiving, I have recognized the importance of trying to remind yourself of the things you are thankful for even when it is super difficult.
My family is like a puzzle. Each person is a piece of that puzzle and the puzzle would be incomplete without them. Sometimes a piece might get lost, but that does not mean the puzzle loses its beauty. We can still remember what the puzzle was like before we lost that piece. I know that is what my Uncle Max would want. Remembering him is the closest thing to him being physically here with us. Sometimes pieces get broken. But the truth is, these pieces are not broken, they are just changed. My Aunt Betty’s piece may have changed, but she is still here with us. So while I am not thankful for the circumstances that have caused the puzzle to be changed, I am thankful to be part of a family that has such strong and lasting connections–like a well-crafted puzzle made with love.
