Monday Meander – September 28, 2020

It may be sunny and even summery warm on this last Monday in September, but my enjoyment of such amazing Indian summer weather has been drowned by news of rising CoVID-19 numbers not only in the country, but the province and even in my town. The second wave is upon us, something I thought would have occurred in late October or even early November. I was counting on having a a bit of time to actually relax and not be so uptight about when and where to go out. I had even begun to get excited about Thanksgiving celebrations – the food, the decorations, the family.

Ours have never been huge affairs. In recent years we’ve never numbered more than seven, still this feast is a big deal to me. It is my favourite one of the year.  But in 2020,  a microscopic microbe has swept all the vibrant anticipation, all the excited preparation off the table.  I have ordered the turkey, but maintaining any enthusiasm for a celebration that remains hidden in a cloud of questions is a heavy lift. It’s a good thing I have a new BFF to talk to.

The scarecrow gets full marks for an unwavering stance on any topic I choose. Any question I ask is met with what I am certain is a thought-FULL silence and a bemused smirk that never fails to make me feel better. Perhaps together we two should embark on a journey through pumpkin land…

I’ll be searching for the way back to my harvest home and the scarecrow will be looking for a brain. Along the way, perhaps we’ll meet a tin man in need of a heart and a lion in need of courage. I know I’ve heard this story before, but even in 2020, even in the midst of the second wave of a pandemic, it only takes a brain, a heart, and courage to find our way.

Mind the distance! Wash hands! Mask up! 

Let’s do this.

 

©2020 April Hoeller

Thanksgiving Day - October 8, 2018

Today is
"...a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."
So reads the decree enacted by Parliament in 1879. Though the date has moved around a little - at first it was November 6, then it was the 3rd Monday in October - on January 31, 1957, the government proclaimed that National Thanksgiving be celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October.

Back when I was growing up, there was never any thought of celebrating on any other day than the officially decreed Monday. It mattered not a whit that folks had to be rough and ready for work the next morning, or that kids had to be up and out to school. Thanksgiving back then was a single day, a great day of family and food complete with all the good china and silverware, and of course, we ate in the dining room.

Saturday was spent grocery shopping and silver polishing, If we did a really good job on the silver for Thanksgiving, only a few touch-ups would be needed for the Christmas feast! Sunday was for church, and maybe even a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum afterward. In the afternoon, Mom made the pies.

On Thanksgiving Monday, "the bird" - always at least a 22 pounder! - had to be stuffed and in the oven by 9am. My mother was in the kitchen shortly after 7 in the morning and didn't leave it until supper was served at 6 and then she was back in there cleaning up until late. Honestly I don't know how she did it all. No microwave ovens, no automatic dishwasher, no convection oven, and one small fridge, with a 1 cubic foot freezer section. Yet it was always a feast of plenty including leftovers for turkey sandwiches, turkey stew, or pot pie during the week. And she loved every minute of it, but perhaps not so much the clearing up, for which my Dad was conspicuous by his absence...
"Lovely meal Irene, now I'm going to bed."
Yeah, that was Dad, but to be honest I'm not sure how welcome he was in Mom's kitchen.

For both the indigenous tribes and the early newcomers to this land, this time of year was one of both deepest gratitude and fervent hope. Come wind, come weather the land had yielded her best and barns were more or less full. But would the bounty be enough to sustain life through a winter of unknowns?

I have not known such a tenuous life, none of my family have. Sure, we've had our struggles, our lean times, but we've always been able to gather together at Thanksgiving amid an embarrassment of riches. I am as humbled as I am grateful for this bounty. I've companioned others whose lives been flipped upside down by a sudden reversal of fortune and I'm now of a great enough age to be keenly aware that good living does not grant any immunity from calamity down the road. A winter of unknowns may give warning but never asks permission to visit, let alone stay a while.

In my heart and home, today is a day to kick back, relax, enjoy and reflect. Our family celebration was on Saturday. It was a feast of plenty, a cornucopia overflowing with good conversation, great laughs, and the best company.

I am so very thankful on this day for my family, my friends, our health and prosperity. I am truly grateful "for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."

Happy Thanksgiving, eh!

Thursday, or Thereabouts - October 4, 2018

Thanksgiving sits on the doorstep and my days are full of food shopping, cleaning and cooking, which doesn't leave much room for 'Thanks-giving'.

Today I pause at the start of a busy day to consider this offering of gratitude from the heart and hand of Joyce Rupp.

"We are grateful for

eyes that see and ponder, 

for taste buds that know the sensuous pleasures of eating and drinking, 

for hands that hold and touch and feel, 

for ears that can delight in music and the voice of a friend, 

for a nose that can smell the aroma of newly mown grass or delicious food, 

and can also breathe the air that gives us life."

"We are grateful for

the treasure of loved ones

whose hearts of openness and acceptance have encouraged us to be who we are. 

We are grateful for their faithfulness, for standing by us when our weaknesses stood out glaringly, 

for being there when we were most in need 

and for delighting with us in our good days and our joyful seasons."

"We are grateful for

the eyes of faith, for believing in the presence of God, 

giving us hope in our darkest days, encouraging us to listen to our spirit’s hunger, 

and reminding us to trust in the blessings of God’s presence in our most empty days." 

"We are grateful for

the ongoing process of becoming who we are, 

for the seasons within, for the great adventure of life 

that challenges and comforts us at one and the same time."

"We are grateful for

the messengers of God - people, events, written or spoke words - 

that came to us at just the right time and helped us to grow."

Joyce Rupp; May I have this Dance? ©1992 Ave Maria Press; p. 151

Thanksgiving Blessings!

©2018 April Hoeller