The bickering of relatives over recent politics; the laughter of cousins as they scurry about the living room; the cheers of dads and uncles after a successful touchdown in a family football game. These are the sights and sounds that will unfortunately be absent from many household Thanksgiving celebrations as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus.

For the St. Louis U. High community, which has seen a rise in cases over the past few weeks, safety is of the utmost importance, as evidenced by the fact the SLUH administration recently walked back plans to have the whole student body on campus for classes, which would have begun after Thanksgiving break.

Senior Erald Murati is in the unique position of celebrating not only turkey day but also his birthday during the Thanksgiving season, but the pandemic has dampened the jovial spirits associated with both since he is unable to invite anyone over to celebrate.

“Usually, we have my close friends, like family friends, come in for my birthday, and then we just have a small party. Then they spend the night, and we celebrate Thanksgiving together too,” said Murati.  “This year, I was just like, ‘we should just celebrate as a family.’ I understand the circumstances, but it's always been a happiness factor having my birthday so close to Thanksgiving.”

Murati’s sentiment is one that is shared among many students, but teachers too, like art teacher Sean Powers, will be restricted from any large family gatherings.

“Well, unfortunately we will not be able to invite any extended family,” said Powers. “It is not going to be a very big thing. We might go out to see our parents, but we are certainly going to be mindful of protocols.”

Still, both have made the best of the current situation, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holidays.

For Powers, that means investing more time painting a piece commissioned by President Alan Carruthers for the new retreat center.

“I had set a goal for myself to finish paintings before Christmas,” said Powers. “I am almost finished working on one, and I think I will finish during Thanksgiving since I will have a lot of time to myself.”

Murati plans to use this time to get to know his family a bit better and to take a break from all the business of school.

“I'm really glad to spend a lot more time with my direct family,” said Murati. “I think most of the time we live our own lives, and it will be nice to have more quality time.”

Despite the many downsides that come with the pandemic, it is important to focus on the reason for the season: being thankful. For Murati, this situation has deepened his appreciation for the holiday as he looks forward to Thanksgivings in the future.

“I think I'm just going to appreciate it more. I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Thanksgiving, but this year's, since we're missing in my household the sort of get-together event, I'm going to cherish that more in the future,” said Murati. “And I'll probably be a stickler when it comes to getting my brother and my parents and my family together.”