We are getting close to the Holidays, and who could have predicted that COVID-19 made it too! Yeah, no funny. COVID-19 shouldn’t be here right now, but it is. So, many Christmas celebrations would look different all around the world.
We know the Holidays are special for many, especially children, and after almost a whole year into a pandemic, we sure feel we should get the chance to celebrate. The reality of this Thanksgiving 2020 is that we might not be able to celebrate with a big dinner with all our friends and family, but that doesn’t mean we’re not thankful for anything. We have indeed lost a lot, but if we haven’t lost anyone due to COVID-19 or haven’t gotten sick ourselves, then there’s still something to be grateful for.
2020 brought me some challenging moments, and I went through some financial losses. However, I still think I should be grateful that both of my senior parents are alive and generally healthy. My dad had an emergency surgery during this pandemic (very scary, I know!), and although he is having more health issues than before, we know he’s okay, and we’re here for him. I also considered being thankful that my asthmatic son has had better health during this pandemic since he hasn’t been exposed to morning pollen because he doesn’t have to get out of the house to go to school (at least something good about Virtual Learning!).
I remember being upset about my sister’s Vet School Virtual Graduation, but now that time has passed, I’m still not happy about it, but I’m looking at the bright side and see this pandemic allowed us to spend more time with each other. By the way if you are in the veterinary field and interested in learning more about wellbeing check out these courses.
When we start seeing things more positively or at least try to find a silver lining, we can appreciate the good between the bad. This Thanksgiving, many of us won’t hug all our loved ones, but nowadays, we have the technology to see them in video in real-time! I would’ve loved to have this technology a lot of years, years ago when I was lonely and far away from my family; it would have made everything so much better.
I think COVID-19 has challenged us to be more positive because it’s time. If everyone practices being more positive, I’m sure we all would feel better about ourselves and our lives despite COVID-19.
At some moments in life, we need to be positivistic to be grateful because there are many things in life that we cannot control, and this COVID-19 Pandemic shows us that. Sometimes we just have to go with the flow.
During this year 2020, we also learned life is fragile, and if we are alive right now, we should be grateful… We owe it to all the people that lost their lives because of COVID-19.
So, whenever you have your Thanksgiving dinner, please enjoy it and be grateful; remember, there is someone who lost more than you did or is lonelier than you are. Then, now take a deep breath, why? Because breathing means you’re alive, that you still got a chance, that you got what many will never have: the chance to breathe and live your life and be thankful for it.
