A Better

A question frequently asked at Thanksgiving dinners in past years often gave me hesitation.

“What are you grateful for this year?”

Normally my thoughts would bring up the love of family, the unexpected joy of sharing moments of life with new members, grandchildren and their spouses or

Occasionally being facetious, I would mention the glistening turkey about to be devoured.

This year, however, (although I seriously doubt if I will be questioned by other residents in my new home,) I already have an answer.

The unexpected challenge caused by the isolation due to Covid provided a deeper appreciation of the world I share with other fellow pilgrims.

Quite surprisingly, I was forced to admit my own inability to savor even the mundane moments of life alone.

Laughter, loving and yes, even feeling fear, lost impact without the often unappreciated comfort of other human beings.

During the long months Covid temporarily claimed my world, I learned the brutal reality of the well quoted phrase and elegant words of John Donne:

“Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind,“

I reluctantly now admit Covid quarantine provided me with a well deserved lesson about the negativity of isolation and reclusiveness.

None of my fictional heroes or heroines, in print or on the TV screen, provided the sublime comfort of a warm hand, a shared chuckle, or an admission of sorrow that only a friend can and does.

Today due to a grim virus, I have learned to be not only grateful for survival, but to view each day with a totally different perspective and openly acknowledge:

“No man is an island.”

As I give thanks.