Some of you will spend Thanksgiving alone this year.   That can be tough.   So I want to share what some people have done to help themselves get through and even feel a bit grateful and useful besides.   These are actual answers to a question I posed online about four years ago. The question was, “What helped you when you had to spend Thanksgiving alone?”  The answers were:

• Went to mass.
• Offered up my loneliness for the souls in Purgatory.
• Watched the parade on TV.
• Called my family, went to the mall, and ate carryout Thanksgiving dinner while I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
• Skipped Thanksgiving completely, put on Christmas music, and began making homemade Christmas gifts for the poor.
• Helped serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless and stayed as long as I could. Then I went home, exercised, and in the evening sipped sherry while listening to Brahms.
• Prayed the rosary for others less fortunate and meditated on their plight.
• Cleaned my entire house and treated it like it was just another day.
• Put a fire in a fireplace, stayed in PJs all day, and watched Star Wars movies.
• Read a book about the Saints.
• Took a long walk and purposely went where there were people so I could say, “Happy Thanksgiving!”
• Stayed on forums and found others to chat with who were also spending Thanksgiving alone.
• Made a list of potential plans for next Thanksgiving, so I wouldn’t be alone next year.

It helps to know you are not the only person alone on Thanksgiving and that there are many ways to cope.   It may not be the happiest Thanksgiving you’ll ever have but it can be a blessed one if you allow God to be with you and use the time well.

The Lord is my Shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.