Do you feel bah-humbuggish this holiday season? After all, for what in the world does one have to be thankful?

If you felt that way, I wouldn’t blame you. I know that I have felt that way. Often this year. Not just around the holidays.

2020 has been….? What? So many words have tried to explain it- weird, surreal, unbelievable, crazy. Dictionary.com has gone ahead and listed some words in describing 2020: unprecedented, apocalyptic, omnishambles, hellacious. I liked the word used by writer Grant Shimmin: Covpassion, meaning “compassion for those affected in some way by Covid-19, which, by extension, is all of us. I hope we have it in abundance.”

Covpassion- Do I have it? Am I compassionate to the “stretched-beyond-limits healthcare workers” when they do not communicate to us, the prevented-from-visiting family, about the status of our loved one? Am I compassionate when hearing about another COVID-related tragedy? Or just numb?

I read of an activity that seemed interesting: Describe 2020 in 5 words to someone comatose since 2016. Examples: Bought 2020 planner-wishful thinking. MacBeth Acts Four and Five. Good luck finding toilet paper.

Across history there are ideas and inventions that are birthed from the rubble of war, plague or difficulties. When life changes or one is thrown a curve, there becomes an imperative for explanation or reaction. An imperative for some type of necessity drawn from the tragedy. No wonder there is the old saying-“necessity is the mother of invention.” Dr. Thomas Latta performed the first intravenous therapy in response to the weakening dehydration that he saw with cholera patients during the 1830’s epidemic. Sir Isaac Newton spent the time of isolation during the bubonic plague continuing and refining his theories of mathematic and universal gravitation. Dr. James Naismith developed the game of basketball to challenge the needs of his rowdy pupils by providing a relatively safe activity that could be played in a small indoor space during the harsh New England winters.

Being the cockeyed-optimist*, I find that there are things for which to be thankful. While this has been a year of loss, grief, and sorrow for us as a family, it has also been a year of great joy in that we have had marriages, births, and fulfilled dreams. We have been blessed beyond measure. I have to remind myself not to let the troubles overpower the thanksgiving in our lives.

For the bah-humbugs in us all, here are a few suggested activities that might lift us from our weariness:

Write a lament. Take the time to recognize that this has been quite a year. For everyone. Globally. Nationally. And individually. You do not have to write anything cohesive or pretty. Just a listing would do. Some people can only write under the topics of a couple of the steps but the real work of the lament is thinking about each of the nine steps. The benefit of the lament is in writing your worst fears and complaints to God as well as the things for which you are thankful in this moment. Even if the word “nothing” is written. Laments provide a structure for acknowledging our feelings. Honestly and unscathed. For truly, God understands and hears every emotion we undergo. In time, laments can move us to see a bigger picture of life.
- Here are the nine steps of lament: (taken from theglobalchurchproject.com)
  - Cry out to God (your address to God);
  - Complaint (your anger, pain, heartache, or sadness);
  - Affirmation of Trust (your remembrance of God’s presence in your past);
  - Petition/Request (your deepest desire);
  - Additional Argument (anything more, why God should intervene);
  - Rage against Your Enemies (bringing your enemies before God);
  - Assurance of Being Heard (what you need to feel heard);
  - Promise to Offer Praise to God (the promise you can offer to God); and
  - Assurance (the attribute of God you are thankful for in the moment).
Read the psalmists’ laments. The psalmists shared all their emotions. These were folks who wore their hearts on their sleeves. You can find the gamut- from self-doubt, self-loathing, despair, fear, to elation, joy, thanksgiving, praise and hope. Sometimes all within the framework of one psalm. Click here for a listing of different types of psalms.
Describe 2020 in 5 words. (@#$&!) are acceptable but not encouraged. The English language is too rich for merely “blue” words but at different times this year, I know I was tempted to let it rip.
Pick your favorite 1 word to describe 2020. Or make one up- a portmanteau, “ a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel (from ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’) or brunch (from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’). (Thanks “You-Know-Who”- the fastest internet searcher I know.)
Write a note. If you find yourself alone or in a smaller gathering this holiday, take some time to write (yup- with pen and paper) a note of thanksgiving to a family member not present.
Go outside and take a walk. I am trying to lean into the expression- The weather isn’t inclement, you’re just improperly dressed. This year I am definitely going to get outside often, even if, and especially if it is inclement. Masked and dressed for whatever weather comes my way.

What about you this Thanksgiving? Are you celebrating? By yourself? With anyone? What will you do to celebrate the day?

While we are just celebrating with our pod we most likely will zoom to connect our families. (Just using those words “pod” and “zoom” is so surreal. I keep thinking that we are either in a StarTrek episode or Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie.) Our one son who lives alone has been with us for a couple of weeks. Our other son and his bride will be by themselves as will our daughter-in-law’s parents. So, we will all try to get together via the computer. No traditional way of gathering. No traditional foods. No traditional pattern to our day. But together.

For me, that is thanks giving.

A Cockeyed Optimist

Words by Oscar Hammerstein II & Richard Rogers

When the skies are brighter canary yellow
I forget ev'ry cloud I've ever seen,
So they called me a cockeyed optimist
Immature and incurably green.
I have heard people rant and rave and bellow
That we're done and we might as well be dead,
But I'm only a cockeyed optimist
And I can't get it into my head.
I hear the human race
Is fallin' on its face
And hasn't very far to go,
But ev'ry whippoorwill
Is sellin' me a bill,
And tellin' me it just ain't so.
I could say life is just a bowl of Jello
And appear more intelligent and smart,
But I'm stuck like a dope
With a thing called hope,
And I can't get it out of my heart!
Not this heart...