This will be the final Thanksgiving for 2.8M (the annual all-cause death toll) fellow Americans.

It could be my last-or yours. That likelihood is significantly higher for our elderly loved ones, too many of whom will not have touched or hugged their family in 9 months...
1/9

...some of whom don't understand why.

The hard truth is that we do not know who will be around for Thanksgiving next November. What we do have is right now--this moment--today.

We aren't promised one moment more...

https://twitter.com/justin_hart/status/1310705415030628352?s=20

2/9

We've all seen some version of the CDC's Thanksgiving recommendations by now. Twitter is abuzz with our newly-christened ‘expert’ class pontificating on ‘safety’ (and morality), asserting that the "right" thing to do is to physically distance from one's family this year.

3/9

We’ve already forgone countless once-in-a-lifetime events to mitigate a newly-minted definition of “risk” which takes only one variable into account.

And many of our seniors--the most vulnerable among us--don’t even want that kind of “safety”...

https://twitter.com/anish_koka/status/1318948506967674880?s=20

4/9

...because it costs precious moments w/ their families. They already achieved quantity in life. What most of them want more than anything is quality.

Thanksgiving presents an opportunity to recapture some semblance of our humanity & remind us why we want so badly to live.

5/9

People who need hugs from their families should be able to get them. That's not a frivolous or selfish desire to be dismissed or diminished.

For many, it has become a matter of life & death.

There's only one "unsafe" version of T-giving for me...

6/9

...and that's failing to be present w/ my family, allowing weaponized shame & performative restrictions to keep us apart.

God forbid one of us isn't sitting at that table next year, I can't imagine grappling w/ that regret.

And if one (or all) of us get COVID, so be it...

7/9

...We will keep calm and carry on. For our family, risk is relative and safety is never guaranteed. Those facts have certainly never stopped us from living true to our values, one of which is 'family first'.

And we're better for it...

8/9

And if, despite the overwhelmingly favorable odds, lightning strikes & COVID takes one of us out, we won’t regret that day for a second.

B/c if “safety” requires us to indefinitely forfeit the most valuable parts of our lives, what exactly are we trying to save?

9/9

Here's a link to the Medium version, if you're interested in sharing on other platforms: https://ajkay.medium.com/how-would-you-spend-your-last-thanksgiving-4dd55b12dc3b?sk=b036474d9a023b185f01d370da12c3c1