Thanksgiving 2022: Who's at your table?

One of my favorite episodes of Modern Family is when they try to replicate the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving painting. As you can imagine, nothing goes right and by the time the photograph is taken the audience gets the point: no Thanksgiving gathering is perfect. More than that, however, is the deeper point that within all the imperfections is something sacred.

It leaves me wondering about this year’s Thanksgiving and who will be at our tables. Will it be a collection of family members trying to replicate an ideal painting? Will people dress up and only bring their “acceptable” selves? Will the couple whose marriage is on the rocks smile as they try to get a picture for the Christmas card? Will the person unhappy at work tout his most recent success? Will the anxious child pretend such gatherings are easy? Will the one who drinks too much at family occasions wait until people leave to crawl inside the bottle? Will the grieving spouse refrain from looking at the empty seat on her right?

Like the television sitcom, it’s tempting at this time of year to present the edited versions of our families and ourselves. Such perfection is impossible, such striving exhausting. Maybe it’s time to give our imperfections a seat at the table. Who knows, maybe in doing so we’ll find something sacred.