Turkey and pumpkin pie; the Detroit Lions and turducken; family, friends, laughter and embraces…the cherished memories of Thanksgiving past (and future!). This is the time of the year where for one magical day, before we become ever-increasingly and rapidly engrossed in the holiday shopping season, most of us found ways to slow down and enjoy the company of those who we care most. Perhaps we would see relatives who made the annual pilgrimage back home from afar. Maybe a new person was introduced to the family, or we told stories of a dearly departed who was unable to share the feast with us anymore. However, in 2020, here we go again, with another cherished tradition for many being put aside in order to try to quell the threats of our invisible supervillain known as Covid-19.
Glass Half-Full
In an attempt to be a glass half-full kind of school, we at IIC are not going to allow COVID-19 to get the best of us and steal our holiday spirit. Rather, we are going to reflect on many of the people and circumstances that make us happy to share our lives and livelihoods with this community.
For starters, we have a fine group of people who we do get to interact with every day (albeit masked and six-feet apart!) at both of our campuses. We know that our students have selected to learn their trade at IIC because we take tremendous pride in the delivery of our education, and that in-turn leads to a group of highly talented stylists-in-training who are eager to give back to the beauty industry. Our dedicated staff and instructors diligently work to provide students with all of the insights and service throughout their time at IIC, and are always eager to both welcome the next class and wave another away. As you walk through the doors of IIC, you feel a sense of family. Yes we both laugh and bicker, and there are sometimes some tears thrown in there as well. But isn’t that a big part of being a family?! To our IIC family, we are thankful for you!
Thank You
In this year of great uncertainty, we also want to send our collective “Thank You” to all of the healthcare workers and medical researchers in the country and throughout the world who are battling the COVID-19 virus on our behalf. For many of us who will not be able to be with our families this Thanksgiving we know that because of your tireless efforts, and those whom you lean on for support, Thanksgiving 2021 may bring back a more robust Macy’s Parade and hopefully that feeling of togetherness that we are all longing.
So wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving, and whoever you may be able to share it with, we at IIC hope in our hearts that you find some peace and glad tidings, and above all else are able to stay safe. We hope that if you are not able to share the time in person with those whom you most wish to embrace, that you are still able to connect in some way, and that they too remain safe and healthy amid all of the uncertainty in the world.
Hopeful
Above all else, we remain hopeful and diligent with an eye towards the future, when we are able to move past this New Normal and instead reconnect and recommit ourselves to the everyday things that we miss. Perhaps gatherings around a table with family members and friends will become more frequent in the years to come rather than less, as we collectively learn that time is the most precious commodity that we have and the Thanksgivings of the past were taken for granted. Maybe, just maybe Thanksgiving 2021 will be the greatest Thanksgiving of them all and that all of those who we were not able to sit beside this year will return, and we will be able to hug them all and let tears of sorrow be replaced with tears of joy.
Lastly, there is this rather simple hope and thanks that can be given. With a prophetic eye towards the future and a longing memory for the past, let us be thankful for the present. Thanksgiving is upon us, a cherished annual Thursday on the calendar where being thankful just may be enough in 2020. Thankful for the air we breathe and the face-covered friends whom we interact with every day, and who are sharing these extraordinary times with us. We at IIC wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!