Finding Thankfulness in a Challenging Year
Tax is probably not foremost in
people’s minds this week.
Unless taxation happens to be your profession, you are probably thinking more about turkeys, stuffing, parades, football…anything but taxes. So, we thought we would take a break from tax education and information and focus a little bit on thankfulness.
For many of us, Thanksgiving will look a lot different this year. Instead of family gathering around the table to enjoy a feast, we will be gathering around several tables and sharing the feast virtually.
It has been a sobering year, and we may have thrown out the word thankful or thankfully in ways we did not intend. It might have unfolded something like this:
January
We start to hear news reports out of China about people getting a mysterious respiratory virus, and many are dying.
How awful! Those poor people in China! Thankfully, that’s “over there.” We’re safe here.
February
A cruise ship off the coast of Japan carrying just under 4,000 passengers is struck with an outbreak of the virus. The passengers are quarantined at sea for 14 days. Many die.
Oh, no! How sad. Those people were just trying to have a nice vacation. Good thing the ship was quarantined in time. Thankfully, we’re still safe here.
By late February, cases are confirmed in a nursing home in Washington State. The new coronavirus has reached our borders.
Well, now that it’s here, we can get rid of this thing. We have the best doctors and scientists in the world. Thankfully, we’ll be safe here.
March and Beyond
By March, the virus ravages New York.
People live, work, and travel in close quarters. Thankfully, it’s not like that here. We’ll be safe.
The virus, now more widely known as COVID-19, continues to spread southward with higher numbers reported in larger cities and towns.
We live out in the country. We’ll be safe here.
Now the virus is breaking records across the nation, including rural areas. It is showing no signs of loosening its grip any time soon.
Let’s be clear. There is nothing wrong with wanting our families and ourselves to be safe. It is alright to be thankful that we have remained healthy as long as we are mindful that many have not been as fortunate.
A Final Note
To end on a more positive and uplifting note, here are a few reminders on how to remain thankful as we celebrate Thanksgiving:
- Every morning, take in a deep breath, smell the coffee (bacon, fresh air; whatever stimulates your olfactory senses), and be thankful.
- Smile and say, “Good morning” to someone. If you live alone, put on a smile, wave, and offer a hearty “Good morning” from a safe distance to the person you pass walking the dog every morning or the coworkers you see every day, and be thankful.
- Call up a friend or family member you haven’t seen in a while. Better yet, have a video chat, and be thankful.
- If you have been sheltering at home with your spouse, children, and perhaps other family members and feel like you could come unglued at any moment, pause, share a group hug, and be thankful.
- In whatever manner you celebrate Thanksgiving, love the ones you are with whether it’s in person or virtually, and be thankful.
If we all take this time to practice thankfulness, we could quite possibly come through this thing a better society than we were before.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Stay safe. Stay well. Stay home.
Bayshore CPA’s, P.A. are your local Certified Public Accountants
and Tax Resolution Specialists conveniently located
in Mooresville, North Carolina
Image: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/11/24/15/03/happy-1060140_1280.jpg