As Thanksgiving began to mentioned in the broadcast and print media, I immediately started hearing complaints about how it will be a different holiday this year: relatives can’t come, or we can’t go to them; we won’t be able to eat together; we may not be able to get the usual treats to eat. It just won’t be the same!

It’s all because of The Virus, as I tend to write it in my diary and letters. If you can say that The Virus and its disease, COVID-19, have not yet cost the life of a friend or family member, count that as a blessing.

If there is any chance that you’ll see your usual Thanksgiving companions again, please count that as one of your blessings. Consider those of us who remember Thanksgiving Days — and so many other days — with people we cannot meet again in this life.

Missing someone temporarily is just practicing, folks.

But there’s not as much to do! There aren’t as many miles to drive or fly! What can we do with a Thanksgiving like this?

I started thinking of what I will do for Thanksgiving and realized that I want some guidance on how to give thanks this year. I got out one of my copies of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations — I’ve been getting accustomed to a 1980 copy passed along by a fellow blogger, but I haven’t abandoned my 1956 copy. I sat down and looked for some quotations about thanks, and I found enough for a series of posts.

The one I’d like to mention here is a bit of a paradox —  not just because it seems to be by both the ever-prolific Anonymous and William Wordsworth.

‘”Rest and be thankful.”

Bartlett’s says that’s from an Anonymous inscription on a stone seat in the Highlands of Scotland, but also the title of one of William Wordsworth’s poems.

So there’s nothing to do? Be thankful. You get a chance to rest. Be thankful for it.

You have happy memories? Be thankful for them. You get a chance to do something in your home? Be thankful for your home.

Rest and be thankful. This year and always, it’s good advice.

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