After much contemplation and planning, we ended up traveling to Charleston for Thanksgiving so that we could be there for a while in advance of my brother's December wedding. It is beyond difficult to navigate the dynamics of the holidays and travel and the realities of COVID against the importance of family and the need to be present for milestone life moments. In the end, we decided to go, incorporating every safety measure at our disposal along the way.
The travel itself was straightforward and seamless, the planes as clean and efficient as I've ever seen them. Airports were not overly crowded, and we felt safe throughout the day, able to carve out spaces away from others.
Once there, we settled deep into the heart of family and celebrated the holiday alongside the normal cadence of our recent days, homeschooling from various spots in my parents' house, setting up to work remotely in other available nooks and crannies. BJ cooked the entirety of the holiday meal as he is overjoyed to do (I think of Thanksgiving as his super bowl), and it was delicious. I offered a prayer that I love and that has never felt more relevant or true:
For food in a world where many are hungry.
For friends and this treasured family in a world where many walk alone.
For faith in a world where many live in fear.
For these and infinite other blessings, we give you thanks, O' Lord.
I am grateful for so much this year, but the ability to be together, to be healthy and to celebrate important moments with those I love the most top the list.
We are back in LA as I type this, finishing up our quarantine post travel to be extra safe, although it isn't terribly different from what all Angelenos are doing, given we are in the throes of another stay at home order. I am praying for a light at the end of the tunnel for all of us as vaccines loom on the horizon. I'm offering up my thanks to our healthcare heroes who give it their all day after day to fight for the most vulnerable among us. I'm praying for peace and unity to trump anger and division, for us to remember that our similarities really do outweigh our differences. I am eager to welcome a new year, but I'll close the door to this one with a grateful heart, eyes open and aware, spirit welcoming and humbled. It was a lovely Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for that, too. xo
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