After the deluge, a nation gives thanks

On Thanksgiving, we Americans gather to feast with family and friends, offering thanks for our blessings. This most American of holidays — it predates the founding of the United States — can be hectic.

There’s the work of preparing mountains of food, cleaning and decorating our homes.

Travel, whether driving across town or flying the length of the country, can add to tensions. Then there is sitting down with the family — the Hallmark moment that can be more problematic in real life, what with political differences and enduring family squabbles. Some people are alone, with no family or friends, or lack shelter and will eat communally thanks to the generosity of strangers.

There is no one Thanksgiving experience, but there is one commonality. On this day, we give thanks.

And despite the uncertain state of the world, with war in Ukraine and the Middle East, with division at home as the nation prepares for the 2024 presidential election, we can pause this day to share our gratitude. Think back to Thanksgiving 2020, when the world was mired in the coronavirus pandemic with little end in sight.

Just to shop for groceries to prepare the Thanksgiving feast involved waiting in line; pandemic precautions limited the numbers of people inside stores. And everywhere, everywhere was worry: If infected, who would survive? Who would be taken?

On Thanksgiving Day 2020, The New Mexican unveiled the latest crop of 10 Who Made a Difference honorees. Among them was the Frost 19 team from Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. These health care professionals worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure patients had the best opportunity of survival. On that day, the state reported 1,873 cases of COVID19, 897 hospitalizations and 83 deaths. The sense of uncertainty and unease was palpable.

Three years later, we have endured the losses of the pandemic, the worries over rising prices and now breathe deeply with the relief that comes from emerging on the other side.

We don’t pretend COVID-19 is gone. Thousands of people across the country still must deal with the effects of long COVID. Others still are becoming ill with the virus. The virus lingers and kills, yet today we have better interventions and improved vaccinations.

On Thanksgiving, we can sit with our friends and families again. No Zoom Thanksgiving or eating outdoors to avoid infection. It’s possible to visit aged relatives in nursing homes. When we gather for a meal, we will remember all those who are missing while giving thanks for all who remain.

On April 30, 1598, members of the Oñate expedition gave thanks after a near encounter with death in the desert, celebrating at what is now San Elizario, Texas. Of that meal, Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá wrote: “We built a great bonfire and roasted the meat and fish, and then all sat down to a repast the like of which we had never enjoyed before. We were happy that our trials were over; as happy as were the passengers in the Ark when they saw the dove returning with the olive branch in his beak, bringing tidings that the deluge had subsided.”

The deluge is subsiding this Thanksgiving of 2023. May we once again give thanks — together.