We may not see our loved ones at Thanksgiving, but I have much to be grateful for

Thanksgiving is one of America’s favorite holidays.

Just thinking of the special day conjures up memories of large family gatherings, holding hands around a table laden with the late Mr. Turkey and nearly every kind of delicious food you can imagine.

It is a day of reunions, of keeping old traditions and starting new ones. It’s the kind of day when people can usually lay their grievances aside and focus on the things they are thankful for.

This year, however, Thanksgiving celebrations will be somewhat different.

People who usually make the annual trek to another city or state to celebrate with family and friends are altering their plans and staying home. Some college students, dreaming of mom’s baked sweet potato or pumpkin pie, may find themselves staying on campus this Thanksgiving and celebrating the day with take-out in their dorm room.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged Americans to stay home during the Thanksgiving holiday, and consider canceling plans to celebrate with friends and family who are not members of your immediate household.

The CDC recommendations come after the COVID-19 death toll of Americans surpassed 250,000 on Wednesday amid more than 11.5 million U.S. cases, with COVID cases on the rise in 49 out of 50 states.

Because of COVID-19, some houses of worship will remain closed. Therefore, many people won’t be attending Thanksgiving worship services in their sanctuaries. Rather, some will have virtual worship services.

Other churches, weather permitting, will have outdoor services with parishioners socially distanced. Still others will worship inside, also adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing.

Yes, Thanksgiving will be different this year. We have had to find new and creative ways to get together with family. Facetime, Portal and Zoom will be very popular this year as we try to “be there” with our loved ones.

Like many of you, this is the time of year that I really look forward to. For the past seven years, I have spent Thanksgiving with my only grandson, Asher, in Missouri.

Visiting my Missouri family at Thanksgiving, and my New York family at Christmas — I have spent Christmas in New York for the past 15 years — has always made me feel special.

It was the first Thanksgiving after my son Rick died that Asher’s mother, Stephanie, called and said, “I know you are sad. … Why don’t you come and be with us for Thanksgiving?” I don’t think I hesitated before saying “Yes.”

A couple of days later, Stephanie sent my ticket. It had happened the same way when I started visiting New York for Christmas.

It was right after my mother died in 2002, that Mary Ann, my former daughter-in-law, invited me to spend Christmas in New York with her and my granddaughter Afra.

“You will love New York at Christmas,” she said.

I fell in love with the bustling city at holiday time, and the tradition we started by going to the Christmas pageant at Radio City Music Hall, where Afra was one of the Rockettes for seven years.

Time brought about many changes. Afra fell in love and married a great guy named Bradford. And last Christmas, their first one as husband and wife, Afra and Bradford gave me an airline gift card to cover my fare to come to New York to be with them when their baby was born. Little Loretta Jane was born June 6.

But because of COVID-19, I have yet to hold her and kiss her chubby cheeks. So, there will be no trips to Missouri or New York for me this year.

But I won’t dwell on the sadness. Instead, I will bask in the memories of the good times of the past years. And I will be thankful for my blessings, then and now.

So let me tell you a few of the reasons I am thankful. I am thankful to be so loved that I am invited year after year to be with loved ones who live in different states. I am thankful that I was able to make the trips, often traveling with the aid of a cane to ease the pain when I walk because of my rickety knees.

I am thankful for the newest member of my family — little Loretta Jane. I am filled with joy when I see my beautiful great-granddaughter via Portal. I laugh when she coos back at me, watching my image on the screen in their New York apartment, as I tell her I love her.

I am filled with gratitude when I think of how she made her entrance into the world in the middle of this pandemic, safe and healthy.

Yes, COVID-19 has caused us to have to alter our Thanksgiving plans. But it has also helped me to see how blessed we are, even in the midst of the darkness around us.

I am thankful for the brave doctors and nurses and aides who work tirelessly to save the lives of those who are victims of this coronavirus.

I am thankful for the people who clean the floors and wipe down the counters and doors of the medical facilities, who often go unnoticed as they try to keep the pandemic at bay.

I am thankful for the school teachers who are trying to educate our children under really tough circumstances.

I am thankful for the store clerks and public transportation drivers who must come in contact daily with hundreds of people who could infect them with the virus.

And I am thankful for the firefighters and police officers who put their lives in harm’s way every single day.

So folks, you are right. This is a different kind of Thanksgiving. And while some of our traditions, or the way we celebrate might have changed a bit, one tradition in my house remains the same. It’s called thankfulness.