earlier this week, as most of us looked ahead to turkey day with tentative hopefulness, canada’s health minister patty hajdu reiterated the risks of large in-person family gatherings.
and now, here we are, steps away from a national holiday that’s symbolic of giving thanks, and instead of gathering with those we love for the yearly family catch-up, ducking nosy nana’s questions about the procurement of a significant other and fielding heated political debates , the most many of us can hope for is a meal with the folks we live with.
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and sure, while it’s not exciting, at least we’re staying safe, and that’s a pretty big something. but what about those on the frontlines — the people who have been tirelessly working immersed in covid-19, risking their lives and those of their families to not only get a grip on the virus, but also keep our healthcare system going. together with the ontario medical association (oma), we asked doctors what they had planned this thanksgiving weekend.
i’ll be on call for my community — putting patients to sleep for emergency surgeries, doing resuscitations, putting in epidurals for laboring women.
— dr. nadia alam (@docschmadia) october 7, 2020
tiring yes, but necessary & rewarding 💕💕
how will you spend #thanksgiving2020? let @healthing_ca & @ontariosdoctors know! https://t.co/rixuzmf2ul
on behalf of all @on_familyhealth i pray for your health, happiness and safe celebrations for #thanksgiving2020 @ontariosdoctors will continue to be your voice of empathy, science and loyalty. i will be watching my palliative care patient carefully and seeing patients virtually. https://t.co/whnc7cmjfa pic.twitter.com/gjntoj3kml
— dralykhanabdulla (@alykhanabdulla) october 6, 2020
how do you celebrate community when you must stay 6 feet apart? it starts with gratitude for all the things we share. i am grateful for my civil liberties, my health, my family and friends (near and far). https://t.co/dpetwepxur
— samantha hill (@samhillmd) october 6, 2020
perhaps dr. hill, president of the oma, says it the best: let’s focus on gratitude. while phrases like, “things could be worse” and “everything is going to be alright” are increasingly sounding like tiresome platitudes — even a form of toxic positivity — as we head into the tail end of a year dominated by a virus and political debacles, maybe the way out is shifting our focus from all that we have lost, to patting ourselves on the back for making it this far. it is, after all, a time for recognizing all that’s good in our lives, and although we may need to look a little closer — squint if you have to — surely we all can find something shiny to hold on to.