Tension at the Table: How 2020 is the perfect recipe for reinventing outdated traditions.

The story of the first Thanksgiving has very much been romanticized, just like the idea of a Thanksgiving dinner during the Pandemic. Yearly, close to 50 million Americans travel to reunite with their families for the Holiday. Picture perfect, smiling families enjoy home cooking, watch football, sink into the post-turkey coma while enjoying boardgames by the fire, and perfecting their Black Friday gameplay. This is what movies are made of, the American Dream, unfortunately NOT the 2020 reality.

Thanksgiving 2020 will be everything but normal. As soon as we accept that our survival during this Pandemic depends on our adaptability, and not the size of our egos, we'll see this as an opportunity, rather than a defeat.

If your Thanksgiving celebration is that picture perfect Americana, I applaud you. For the rest of us, it's time to ask ourselves: IS IT WORTH IT?

Have we fallen into a vicious hamster wheel of traditions and cultural expectations, just because "that's how we've always done it" and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Well, it's broke.

The pandemic has been a huge magnifying glass, glorifying all the shortcomings in our systems, organizations, and families. As a country we have been polarized on the issues of science, education, and politics. Our tolerance has thinned, and our need for support has increased. It's time for change.

Thanksgiving 2020 is the perfect opportunity to break away from the set expectations and rituals, and embrace a true connections. Are you willing to drop $500 on a round trip this year, spend hours in lines and traffic, risk your life and everyone else's at the dinner table just to sit through Uncle Bob drunken political speeches, or take the teacher bashing? Will you drive an hour to sit through another tasteless meal and only walk out to say, "Well... this could've been an email. Wanna hit up In-n-Out on the way home?" Are you willing to pay the price just to make it all feel "normal'?

Some say that true friends can go years without talking, and their connection is never extinguished. Guess in times like these you find out who your true friends & family are. Is your family relationship strong enough to survive change and grow, or are we just stuck in this vicious cycle of routine and tradition, leaving us all empty and hungry at the end of the meal?

If you really want to connect with family & friends, you don't need a special holiday or occasion. Every day should be occasion enough and celebration of life. Maybe it's time to get off the hamster wheel, step out of our comfort zone, and embrace a new normal?

Thanksgiving Zooms will give us the freedom to mute Uncle Bob, unbutton our pants post dessert, and get to know each other on our own terms. Maybe it's time for the grandkids to challenge Grandma to "Among Us", and she in return can judge the cookie decorating competition. Maybe we can have bake offs inspired by the "Great British Bake Off", play taboo, or even Door Dash dinner for our parents as a token of appreciation? And you never know, it is quite possible to experience internet issues when things start to get out of hand.

So maybe this Thanksgiving 2020 we can have our pie and eat it too, all Covid free.