Not at all like I expected. That's for sure!
At the beginning of 2020, I reminded my children, et al, that I had plans to retire from United Airlines on my 20th anniversary in August. And...since I was going to reach a milestone anniversary on my 75th birthday in December, I invited all of them to join me for Thanksgiving 2020 during which time we would also celebrate my DIAMOND birthday.
I had had such a wonderful experience when they surprised me the day after Thanksgiving in 2015 for my 70th birthday. This time I was going to make sure it happened again. "So, get your ducks in a row, make your reservations, get the time off work, and make sure you're here for a really bang-up celebration." I was really looking forward to it!
In the 21 Thanksgiving Days since I began with United in August 2020, there have been only about five or six that I had opportunity to spend the holiday with family--and only three of those were at my home. The rest of them were during my time in another city with one of my children or with Louis when he came on a layover with me. The bulk of those Thanksgiving days, I was either on a plane with hundreds of other people who were trying to get to their family celebrations. Or I was esconced in a hotel room with hours on my hands and a Thanksgiving hamburger meal from Mc Donald's before they closed at noon so their employees could celebrate with THEIR families. Oh, I always took a ton of stuff with me to occupy my time, but there was always something lacking--FAMILY! It never really seemed like Thanksgiving. No wonder I was looking forward to a Thanksgiving celebration without any spectre of United's crew desk hanging over me.
Then coronavirus reared its ugly head, and all of our lives changed drastically. Oh, not all at once. But along the way the pandemic changed the face of our entire existence all the way from our employment to how we interacted with each other, at home, at church, and out and about. Then I ended up taking a voluntary separation from United which they counted as retirement.
Still, I was adamant that we were going to meet for Thanksgiving and my birthday. The plans were all in place, reservations at hotels made, and tickets for air travel already purchased. It looked like a "go".
However, a couple of weeks ago, there were more setbacks. Plus more people in the family had contracted COVID--though everyone recovered without incident. After some intense family texting, I finally made the final decision and said that "it" was just another day. We could celebrate next year when all this crap was behind us.
Cancellations, refunds, disappointment.
Then Louis and I started to scale down our Thanksgiving dinner to just a turkey breast, and some of the trimmings--but in much smaller proportions. We even got just two pieces of pie instead of making a whole one.
One unexpected result with only two diners, though, was a beautifully set table. For years every time we have been together as a family, we have resorted to paper plates--albeit fancy ones--instead of generating a lot of dishes and a clean-up time that took hours. This year I actually rooted around in the cupboard and the china cabinet in the front room to find some nice pieces that had service only for two. I even dug out the silverplate and polished up two knives, two spoons, and four forks-- two each for salad and dinner. And a centerpiece.... How fancy is that...!
At 3 pm we sat down to eat. But there was something missing--FAMILY--in person. The Zoom call was fun while we were all eating dinner at the same time, but not in the same place.
Next time, I opting for a Thanksgiving Day that gives us opportunity to be together in person as a FAMILY and actually looks, and FEELS, like a traditional celebration!
Is that too much to ask?!
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