As the week comes to an end and we creep into Thanksgiving week, the saying above keeps ringing in my mind. Let me tell you why…

In Ohio, we were issued a Stay-at-Home advisory this week. Meaning everyone is wondering — What the heck do we do for Thanksgiving? We also had a Friendsgiving planned this weekend (with a significantly smaller group than years past) but as soon as the advisory was announced, we called it off.

That hasn’t sat well with me.

This would have been year 4 of Friendsgiving and given the state of the world, cherishing tradition is important to me. COVID19 sucks. That is something we can all agree upon. What I refuse to do is let it change everything, suck the happy out, and leave us quiet at home. Let me make it clear that I refuse to do nothing at all but in NO way does that mean to ignore the advisory.

Last night something clicked and I realized this is an opportunity for all of us. This is a chance for us to get back to basics. How can we have fun but stay apart? We act like it’s difficult but it is 2020 people…whether we have tried to forget that or not…technology is better than ever!!! The one constant during this pandemic has been people/businesses pivoting and getting creative. Here at Do Gooder, we know all about that! Whether it has been shifting business models or coming up with new ideas to meet current needs – every day has been new!

I immediately started rambling off ideas to my husband and to my surprise, he completely agreed. My first idea was to write “I am thankful for you because…” notes for our friends then put them on their front doors. We loved this but we all are foodies so replacing a meal with a note (although sweet) wasn’t exactly right for us. My husband’s idea is to have each of us get 4 sides of our favorite fries, exchange them outside, and have a fry off. No one has to cook. No one has to be in the same room. No one has to talk face to face. All while supporting our favorite local restaurants and having FUN together but apart. We haven’t solidified plans yet but we all know that keeping the tradition alive is important to us. I hope that everyone can take that spirit into this holiday season. Nothing has to be ruined, we just have to get creative!