A Thanksgiving Like None Other

Rev. Dr. Kitty Boitnott, NBCT, RScP

Heart-Centered Career Transition and Job Search Coach | Stress Management Coaching

In a couple of days, we will be starting the holiday season of 2020 with Thanksgiving, and it will be like none we have ever experienced. My fervent Thanksgiving message to you is that you find a way to experience a safe and satisfying Thanksgiving in the midst of this global pandemic.

Like you, I suspect, I have changed my traditional plans this year.

In a "normal year," I would be traveling to see my family on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, we reprised a tradition that we began over a decade ago while our mother was still living. We met at the hotel at Natural Bridge near Lexington, VA for their fabulous Thanksgiving buffet.

It is a drive that takes not quite three hours for me, a little over three hours for my sister, and a little over an hour for my brother. Now that mom is gone, we are the only family we have left. My sister and I never had children, and my brother never married. So it's just the three of us, along with assorted uncles and cousins that we see at funerals, and even those are not the same as they were in the past.

This year, we have decided to skip the annual journey to get together, and instead, we will do a three-way conference call on Thanksgiving Day at lunchtime.

Since March, we have been doing virtual calls and Zoom meetings except for getting together for my sister's birthday outdoors in August. 

Given everything that is going on, we have decided to stick to the phone and Zoom until next spring when we can meet on a restaurant patio somewhere and feel a little safer than we would feel inside somewhere right now.

The CDC recommendation is that we not travel at all this year. The best advice is to stick to our "bubble" for this holiday--celebrate in person with those who are a part of our immediate household--and celebrate virtually with everyone else. Thank goodness we have the technology to allow that to happen!

This has been a strange--and in many ways--an awful year, I know. You may know someone who has suffered or died from COVID, and if that is the case, I am truly sorry. 

Whether you have lost someone or not, your life has been impacted by this pandemic.

None of us have been spared the consequences of a global pandemic for which there is no cure and no vaccine--yet.

Our health care workers are being worked to the point of breaking.

All of our front-line workers, our essential workers, our teachers--everyone is working longer hours, and the strain is getting to everyone.

But we must soldier on and make accommodations for the virus because it isn't tired, and it doesn't care that it is causing us an inconvenience when we want to get with family and friends.

So, whatever your plans for this holiday are, please be safe and stay well.

If you feel that you are alone and suffer from depression and anxiety, please seek out help.

If you are sick and tired of having to be careful all the time and vigilant about wearing a mask and socially distancing, join the club. We are all sick and tired of it. But we can't let our guard down. We can't afford to. We must continue to be vigilant. We must continue wearing masks and staying socially distanced, and sticking to our own little "bubble" for now.

"This too shall pass" is one of my favorite mantras. It reminds me that nothing is forever. "The only constant in life is change" is also a good reminder that change is going to be part of your life forever. And we are all having to adjust to change right now in a way we never considered before.

The thing is that despite your feeling alone, you aren't.

We are all in this thing together. We may be apart, but that is not the same as being alone. 

So, make arrangements to get with family and friends by phone or Zoom or FaceTime or whatever your favorite medium is. Don't dwell on how you are being deprived of a "normal" holiday. Nothing about this year has been normal until now, and it's not going to start being normal because we are tired of being cautious.

Do something for yourself that makes you happy. When I think of things that make me happy, it often includes food, but that's okay for Thanksgiving, right? So bake some brownies or binge on a little Ben and Jerry's. Binge-watch your favorite TV show or read a good book. Make good use of this holiday. Next year will feel sweeter because of the sacrifice you might be making this year. This will not last forever. But for now, do whatever you need to do to keep yourself safe and to keep your loved ones safe as well.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Until next week.

P. S.

In case you are looking for something to do this weekend, I am offering a special live Black Friday event on Friday, November 27, 2020, at 1:00 PM EST and an encore presentation on Saturday, November 28, 2020, 11:00 AM EST.

I will be talking about the "3 Secrets of EVERY Successful Job Search or Career Change."   

If you are a teacher who is ready to transition from the classroom into the job or career of your dreams, you MUST watch this special webinar workshop. If you are a mid-career professional in another field who is ready to make a change, you, too, must attend this Masterclass.

Here is what you will learn...

1)  The #1 challenge that every job seeker faces (whether you are a teacher or not)

2)  The basic tools you will need to conduct a successful job search from scratch
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3)  The 3 “P’s” you need practice throughout your search for as long as it takes

This presentation is for the teacher (or anyone else who is ready for a career change) who is ready to transition from the classroom into the corporate world but has no clue how or where to start a job search.

If you would like to join me, click on this link to register for either event:  https://event.webinarjam.com/register/19/47l41ao.

Most people who start a new job search don't really know what they are doing, but they think they can figure it out on their own.

And they CAN.

But only after lots of trial and error.

In the meantime, they delay their ultimate success and suffer from lots of frustration and disappointment along the way.

I will offer the "secrets" that most new job seekers or career changers don't know but need to know if they want to shave time off their search.

And I am offering a special "Black Friday" special price on my signature program, "Jumpstart Your Job Search for 2021 Group Coaching Program."

If you want to learn the secrets without buying the program, that's fine. The presentation will be chocked full of the information you need to get your job search started.

But you might find that you want to take advantage of the Black Friday offer, so sign up now and mark your calendar:  https://event.webinarjam.com/register/19/47l41ao

Friday, November 27, 2020, at 1:00 PM EST and Saturday, November 28, 2020, at 11:00 AM EST.

I hope to see you there!