Thoughts on Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving

Like I talked about in my last column, the last 20-21 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been hard on all of us, especially when it comes to the subject of mental health.

However, this month of thanksgiving — and especially Thanksgiving Day itself — serves to remind us that we still have much to be thankful for, even during what has been a relatively dark time for many of us.

I also was reminded of that a couple of weekends ago, when I made the trip to O’Fallon, Illinois, in Metro East for my first Friendsgiving.

Now, if you do not know what Friendsgiving is, it’s basically a Thanksgiving celebration held with friends instead of family. It’s a little bit like a grown-up version the 1973 holiday special “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” albeit without Snoopy and Woodstock.

Getting to spend time with friends is always special, but this one was more special than usual for a few reasons. First, the four friends I spent the afternoon with are friends I have seen very little of, if any, the last two years. Because of my close relatives and myself all having several risk factors for contracting severe COVID-19, I have basically become something of a recluse since the start of the pandemic.

But now that my family members and I have all not only been fully vaccinated, but also gotten our booster shots, I decided it was time to visit with some good and dear friends. The fact that the majority of them also are fully vaccinated didn’t hurt.

Second, I have wanted to do a Friendsgiving event for several years now, but have not been able to for one reason or another. My living in Nebraska and Wyoming for more than three years prevented it, then the COVID-19 pandemic postponed it again last year. Getting to finally do it this year, especially with all that has been going on in the world since the start of the pandemic, made it all the sweeter.

And that day was about all I could’ve asked it to be. Brooke, who hosted the event with her new husband, Jake, cooked a turducken for us (quick aside: I have wanted to try a turducken for many years, ever since John Madden started hyping it during holiday football games). New hubby Jake had NFL RedZone on the big TV, so I got to see my Tennessee Titans pull out a big win over the New Orleans Saints. Last but certainly not least, getting to see the newlyweds, plus Brooke’s sister Hannah and our good friend Danno — and have a real sit-down visit with them for the first time in two years — was great medicine for the soul.

Of all the things we have to be thankful for in this month of thanksgiving (and Friendsgiving), time with friends and family has got to be very near the top of the list, especially after the last two years.

Mike Buhler is a staff writer for the Daily American Republic. Contact him at mbuhler.dar@gmail.com.