Nothing to be thankful for this year? Here are some things to consider

Sandra Matuschka
·3 min read
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The leftover turkey is simmering its transition to soup, the pies are largely all eaten, and most of the holiday budget has been spent on endless “Black Friday” deals that began in late September before the leaves had even turned. This is Thanksgiving weekend 2022.

I know for sure I’m aging now, because other than the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade and the evening football game, everything around this once-valued family holiday seems changed to me. Oh, except the Wednesday-before traffic; that’s still the same.

Nobody seems to be thankful for much these days if you believe the polls. And of course, they’re never wrong; well, except once in a while — like at the beginning of this month. So, I thought I’d make a list of things we can be thankful for in this modern age we inhabit. Of course, you can be thankful year-round, but we’re so busy being terrorized by the latest news bulletin, we hardly have time to think, never mind be thankful.

Sandra Matuschka
Sandra Matuschka

Here’s my list for this year. You might want to add some items of your own to it.

Things to be thankful for:

· We can now end a sentence with a preposition (see above title) because grammar has deteriorated so much no one really notices, or if they do, they don’t care.

· The mute button on the television’s remote control (without which TV would be unendurable; ads now encompass every organ, orifice, and related anomaly in the human body).

· We don’t have to wear masks at the family get-together this year (but we do have to keep them handy in our pockets or purses in case someone starts sneezing and coming down with one of the three [count ‘em] viruses currently stalking our lives).

· Prices of hearing aids will be coming down in the new year (disabling excuses that begin: “Sorry, I didn’t hear that….”).

· We’re not movie stars who have to dress up (or way down, as it may be) for galas with clothes that vaguely resemble what we created out of scraps for our dolls when young.

· We have the option of popular movies on big screens in our living rooms (without having to endure high movie theater prices, and picking our way through chewed gum, used tissues and spat-out kernels of popcorn on a darkened floor).

Myvette Bonilla Sousa of Blount Foods has a little fun with her turkey hat at a turkey giveaway in 2020.
Myvette Bonilla Sousa of Blount Foods has a little fun with her turkey hat at a turkey giveaway in 2020.

· We’re “protected” with super camera surveillance in almost every place you can think of (legally and illegally).

· We’ve elevated the art of political campaigning to rival that of mud wrestling, only with sound.

· Fewer people are being trampled in Thanksgiving special midnight door openings at large stores; now people just crash the internet.

· Monetary progress has reached the stage where we can now enroll in Crypto Currency 101 courses so that we can invest in companies like FTX.

· The national news has gotten so bad that watching “Forensic Files” is a definite relief valve.

· Finally, we can be thankful that this year is almost over (but we say that every year, don’t we?).

A tongue-in-cheek column about Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete unless it were neutralized by a serious consideration of all our real benefits and blessings. And we really do have many.

Each person’s list will be different, but perhaps the mystic, theologian and philosopher who lived in the 13th and 14th centuries — Meister Eckhart — said it best for all of us: "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough."

I say “Amen” to that. Have a good holiday.

Sandra Matuschka of Tiverton is a freelance writer and columnist. Send feedback and suggestions to smatuschka@cox.net or c/o The Newport Daily News, P.O. Box 420, Newport, RI 02840.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Nothing to be thankful for this year? Here are some things to consider