It’s the day before Thanksgiving, that wondrous holiday in the U.S. that marks the cooperation between a group of indigenous people and newly arrived immigrants. As a historian, I know that what began with cooperation and high hopes devolved into centuries of conflict. So for many people, Thanksgiving is a difficult holiday to observe. And the outcome of the recent presidential election may make some family reunions even more uncomfortable this year.
Since the election, I’ve been at a loss for words. This morning, I read novelist Celeste Ng’s wonderful article about giving thanks, and I decided to share her words here.
I hope we all find things to be thankful for, tomorrow and every day.
And for a non-historical, non-political closing, I’ll leave you with this. Guaranteed to bring a smile.
Theresa Kaminski 
As the matriarch of a family whose members differ in their political persuasions and five of whom are coming a long distance to celebrate the holiday with the rest of us, I intend to gently suggest that we forego talking about the election, our political views or our fears for the future. Feelings run so high that l cannot bear to think of any of our precious time together being consumed with making each other feel bad. If they forget, I will remind them. If necessary, I’ll send them to the kitchen for a time out. There are so many other things to talk about; we have a lot of catching up to do. We are indeed blessed in so many ways. Wish me luck.
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Oh, good luck, Mary, but I hope everyone will enjoy being together so much that they won’t want to ruin in. And if a kitchen time-out doesn’t work, there’s always this: https://youtu.be/VnzRFyOMD4U
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