Sandi Rudski Capponcelli: My father-in-law's birthday is Nov. 22, and we always celebrate it on Thanksgiving when the family gets together. Every year his “birthday” cake is a pumpkin cheesecake that I make especially for him. I have been doing that for almost 40 years now. This will be the first year I won't be making one for him.
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Judy McGee: I'll miss having my son come up to be with us. He is in Connecticut. I will miss him, but I am thankful for being able to FaceTime with him.
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Paula Brault: Family around the table.
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Rory Metcalf: Friendsgiving.
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Luke Sillars: Driving two hours to a “potluck” event with my extended family, where everybody just brings a small box of plain Triscuits to gain rightful entry, after which we all sit around a table eating them with thinly rationed brie, making small talk and pretending to like each other.
In simpler times, we all enjoyed such comforts, but this is 2020, and we can no longer safely bask in the excesses of yesteryear. Sigh.
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Lisa McCormick: This morning, I went to the grocery store to buy the food: sweet potatoes for sweet potato pie. Stuffing. Cranberry. Green beans. And the smallest turkey they had (15 lbs.!) (for 2 people!).
We will Zoom with the family members who would have normally spent the holiday together. And we will have the real traditional home-cooked meal.
I decided that the food tradition was too important to not be honored - even for just the two of us at the real-life table.
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Haley Elisha: We will be making tortellini, a tradition from the kids' babcia (whom none of them remember, but it feels important); potatoes and stuffing; cheesy broccoli (from the other side of the family); and a chicken. Because none of us love turkey, and since it's just us, we don't have to!
Though it's possible we will just make pie. In which case we will call it a purple crayon holiday.
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Dot Lenhart: I will miss having my daughter and grandchildren over for a delicious, lazy day together. Family is everything, and it hurts to be separated from them. I must note I see my daughter a lot, distanced; she is my greatest support these days.
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Amelia Kinney: I will miss my dead relatives.
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Shaw Israel Izikson: I'm going to miss having friends over, but I purchased a turkey gravy cover for my iPad so they can Zoom in while eating dinner.
Also: I miss having an alma mater - a pity certain people out there didn't do anything about it to try to save it.
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Molly Stoner: I'll miss gathering with 20-ish dear friends. It's always such a nice, eclectic mix of people with a most excellent potluck!
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Tammy McNamara: Family. I am really going to miss my mom and dad.
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Robin Rieske: We are Zooming with the family. We are doing a go-around about a recipe or tradition we love and who we got it from. No getting together - next year will be awesome in person!
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Peter Simoneaux: Don't get me started.
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Brenda Siegel: I am missing family.
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Karen Shapiro: I am missing seeing my parents.
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Neringa Marija Perminas Atkinson: Actually, this will be the first time that I will have Thanksgiving off in six years. But the biggest irony is that I will still be spending it alone, as my daughter and her boyfriend won't be able to make it down from Austin. But that's OK. I'm still planning on cooking up a storm, and I'm looking forward to trying a Southwestern-style turkey and fixings.
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Amanda Matt: I'm going to miss my parents so much, especially my mom. I'm also going to miss my extended family as well - I actually like them, but I'd given up on seeing them a long time ago. Losing the chance to see my parents was recent and heartbreaking.
For the more positive version of what I'll still have: we're still going to have the traditional holiday foods. I actually like cooking and baking, so that makes me happy. That's about it.
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Gemma Seymour: It's been a very long time since my family made the effort to love each other and be with each other. When I was a child, we would all gather at my grandparents' home, sometimes nearly 30 of us. I watched my extended family disintegrate over the years, and when my grandmother passed away at 94 in 2018, I knew that funerals would likely be the only times when we would make any effort at all to be civil to one another.
My stepfather passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in February, and his funeral in early March happened just before everything shut down.
I last hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in 2015, here in Brattleboro, with and for friends, and it was lovely, but every year since then, I've been alone. Although I would prefer not to be alone, the truth is that have a wonderful time cooking and eating my Thanksgiving for One.
This year, of course, gatherings are out of the question, but I do look forward to the day when I can once again fill my home with friends and fill them will delicious food and warmth and love.
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Lissa Weinmann: We are fasting!
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Janie Crossmon: My daughters always come home for Thanksgiving, and we always do for a horseback ride and pick out a Christmas tree in the Farm woods. I will miss the laughter this year.
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John VanDyke Wilmerding:
§My entire family
§those living, and past (passed)
§I rejoice in thanks
§with those who are with me
§on the other side of Earth
§and on the “flip side” of Life
(I'll also miss pumpkin pie with whipped cream.)
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Michelle Bos-Lun: We are having a tiny Thanksgiving meal: just our household with my husband, daughter, and granddaughter. We will cook all the usual menu items: just smaller portions. We arranged to get half of a small turkey from a local farmer, which will still be too much for three meat eaters, but we love leftovers. I'm disappointed to not be able to invite friends and family this year but hopeful that next year we can resume with a larger celebration meal.
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Ian Diamondstone: Nothing will change. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It's about family, friends, food, and sharing! Nothing will change. Still my all-time-favorite holiday, with best family memories, so many stories, so much love and sharing! Nothing will change for me on Thanksgiving.
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Karen Colby: I'll miss having my kids home and spending the day with us. it breaks my heart we won't be able to because of the restrictions.
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Dorothy Grover Read: We're going to Zoom with our kids and grandkids, but I will certainly miss having them all around the table, along with my sister, nieces, and nephews, and my son-in-law's family as well.
But it's just a day in the grand scheme of things, and keeping everyone safe is far more important than one meal.