In this most inauspicious of years, on this most inauspicious of Thanksgivings, it is challenging to wish you a “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Throughout, you are the leaders that have fought hunger, fought homelessness, fought hopelessness, fought injustice, fought racism, well before and all the while fighting this pandemic. And it is about to get harder, as we stand on the precipice of a winter whose only certainty is its uncertainty.

But hope abides. Vaccines will start arriving for frontline healthcare workers in the next few weeks, and for the rest of us in the months thereafter. And over the course of 2021, we will have the chance to remedy the inequities and inadequacies that have been exposed and exacerbated in 2020. We must.

Until those better days come, we must remain vigilant, and safe. And for so many of us, this means staying apart from our loved ones, too. ~In missing my Lebanese family members today, I was reminded of the words of the Lebanese-American writer, Khalil Gibran: Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

We can show love to one another now by remaining apart so that we may come together next year when there is so much more to be grateful for. We can show love to one another by bringing comfort to those who need it most right now: Those who have lost, those who are lonely, those who do not know what tomorrow may bring.

We can all know this: We can all be there for one another, whatever may come.

P.S. Please support local businesses, artists, and nonprofits this holiday season. And if you are looking for personal protective equipment: All mask, sanitizer, and wipes purchased from Aunt Flow will be matched in donations to our members at Central Community House, CRC – The Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, Gladden Community House, Godman Guild Association, and St. Stephen’s Community House.