So, unlike several million other Americans….

 I did not travel over this Thanksgiving weekend. Instead, I did my part to help contain the pandemic, having been in quarantine for 14 out of the past 20 days, and simply having no company or contact in person with anyone for the other six days.

I’m not alone in this. Bonnie, a colleague who works for the Tribal Education Department, but who has also been working from home, has been away from her office for 14 days, effectively meaning neither of us was at all likely to have picked up COVID. 

So, when our mutual friend Betty Carl, 10 days post-COVID herself, decided she’d make a major Thanksgiving meal, we agreed to come. We are probably the only three people in all of Roberts County that could count on being COVID free.


Wow- what a meal Betty made! She cooked “for a threshing crew.” The three of us did our best to make a dent in it, but also got to bring home leftovers that will last at least two more weeks!

Best yet, prior to heading over to Betty’s apartment, I was able to visit with my sister and her family in New York on Zoom as well as join the two Pius convents for prayer and a pre-meal social.

Even in a world as challenged and as challenging as ours, it was good to be “together” to celebrate and give thanks.