Don’t Let COVID Break Your Thanksgiving Spirit

Thanksgiving can be a great time for families to laugh, pull together, make memories, and form traditions. It can be a time of lying awake at night in excited anticipation or lying awake feeling like the ongoing reality of COVID is destroying your plans.

You can’t control whether all your family and friends are vaccinated and taking appropriate precautions. You also can’t control the ongoing risk that even those taking precautions and those vaccinated may have been exposed to the virus. You can’t control what life brings to the mix.

Hear me when I say, COVID won’t break your holiday. Only you can make or break it. It depends on the attitude you bring to the occasion. It depends on what happens in the days leading up to and the days following the holiday.

You can choose what you bring to the holiday. Your attitude will make the difference. So let me ask; are you going to have a defeated attitude or a winning attitude toward Thanksgiving?

A defeated attitude...

• Throws in the towel. Does nothing and COVID wins.

• Is stuck in tradition and has an all or nothing attitude.

• Is a holiday grump who is angry at their plans having to change.

• Refuses to be sensitive to how this may be hard for other family members as well.

• Fails to express their wants and needs in a problem solving mode.

A winning attitude...

• Is flexible with traditions and open to trying new ideas.

• Is sensitive to the wants and needs of the family.

• Is unselfish remembering the greatest gift they can give is their heart.

• Makes family a priority.

• Tries hard to be fun and create fun for the family.

• Thinks and expresses gratitude to those they love.

So What Can You Do?

1. Work on your attitude. Make a gratitude list and add to it each day.

2. Express gratitude to your family. Call, email, snail mail or talk in person.

3. Look at family conflicts through the lens of giving more benefit of the doubt.

4. Consider letting go of resentment. Apologize or forgive; whatever is appropriate.

5. Problem solve how to make it a great holiday. Be creative.

6. If you can’t celebrate with extended family, celebrate with immediate family.

7. If there is no gathering in person, still find a way to connect. Be creative.

Ron Cochran Counseling Update

To accommodate you, I offer both in person and online sessions. I am so glad we have safe ways to meet to tackle the issues that hinder great marriages. My conviction is and continues to be to help couples have relationships that partners can cherish and enjoy.

I continue to train to become more effective helping you. That keeps me busy, but I enjoy improving myself.

You can find many tips via my blogs and videos at rcochran.com and my Ron Cochran Counseling Facebook and Instagram pages.

From a personal standpoint, I enjoy spending time with my children and grandchildren. Since my wife Patty and I are close to our 3 children and their spouses, we consider ourselves having six children. We love it. We would go any length to make sure our family relationships are strong.

And the grandkids? Three year old, Teagan is adorable and a character. She has grandpa wrapped around her little finger. Liam is 5 and has started kindergarten. On his first day, he said, “Best day ever.” Our newest granddaughter, who is just a few months old, is a special addition to our lives. I really enjoy being able to hold her. I want her and grandpa to be buddies for life.

So when it comes to Thanksgiving, whether we are all able to be together or not, we are going to figure out how to have a great holiday.

Let’s all be safe and enjoy the holidays!