A very Covid Thanksgiving

Anyone who knows us knows that Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. It’s rare that we have fewer than 15 or 20 guests (a bunch of them as houseguests for the whole week!) and we cook and bake for days on end in anticipation of a house filled with great smells, happy conversation, and lots of holiday spirit.

Last year, for example, was epic:

This year’s Thanksgiving celebration was very different. With Covid numbers skyrocketing around the country, we made the heartbreaking decision not to gather at all this year. It just isn’t worth the risk. The news on vaccines is promising – if we can just hold out for the next few months, excruciating as it will be.

So it was just Tom and me on Thanksgiving. Very weird! But, actually, it was kind of nice, too. We have absolutely nothing to complain about (other than not being able to be with family, of course) and everything to be grateful for, so we decided to make the most of this very bizarre situation.

In the morning, we decided to head just a few miles north to Manchester State Park. The idea was to scope out some good campsites for spring, but we also enjoyed a nice walk around the park…

Who knew that there was such a great view of Seattle from the sleepy little town of Manchester?! Once that fast ferry to Seattle from Southworth begins this coming June, this area will explode!

Last week we decided that if we had to be alone for Thanksgiving, we might as well make the most of it, so we ordered take-out dinner from one of Gig Harbor’s nicest restaurants, Brix25. It was delicious – and clean-up was a breeze!

We weren’t alone, though, as each of our four kids and their partners checked in remotely…

Peter and Shannon

Alex and Erin

Kat and Ian

Elisabeth and Danny

…and then we all hopped on a Zoom call for a fun game of remote trivia. Tom and I actually didn’t feel alone at all, thanks to technology!

We’re so grateful that our kids are happy and healthy, riding out this bizarre pandemic with someone they love.

At this point, a traditional Christmas is looking very iffy and chances are good that we’ll be celebrating that holiday alone this year, too. We’ll take it day by day between now and then, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, and act accordingly when the time comes.

I can handle everything except Christmas Eve; being alone of Christmas Eve would break my heart.