Race to Year’s End

When I was younger, Thanksgiving marked the beginning of a rush to year’s end. Whatever work I was doing could stand down to encourage a tribal time of memory and good cheer. Our tribe is diminished in numbers these days, so the end of year rush has become a place to meet obligations and juggle schedules for time together via video chat. If we are lucky, we can share a meal in person. It is not the same.

It is a given that Americans will experience loneliness as we age. How we cope is the measure of how sustainably we led our lives. When my maternal grandmother was my current age, she lived on her own and would get together at Mother’s home for holiday events, typically for part of a day. The build up to the event, and resting after it was over were all part of the experience. It was a situation far removed from the idea of spending from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day isolated from the broader world with immediate family doing tribal things.

This year I expect to take more time with living. I expect there will be things to do, maybe a place or two to go, and perhaps some special food. I have low expectations. It should be a great time to get ahead on my writing project.

I’m not sure what happened, other than the truth came out about the story of Thanksgiving and the holidays… how commercial interests took over the space and dominated it for too long. In a position to push that aside, I find it easier to identify what’s most important and who we can count upon. That will be enough.