Joe and Jill Biden in Thanksgiving op-ed: ‘We can be apart without being alone’

President elect Joe bidenJoe BidenHarris says she has’ not yet ‘spoken to Pence Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams among Time Obama magazine’s 2020 Person of the Year nominees: Republican Party members think’ men whites are victims ” MORE and his wife, Jill Biden, wrote an op-ed on Thursday wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, even as people are separated from their families amid the pandemic.

The first couple entering also thanked frontline healthcare workers, educators and researchers.

“This year our turkey will be smaller and the cooking noise a little quieter. There will be no family walk in the cold or playful bickering between the grandchildren. Like millions of Americans, we are temporarily abandoning traditions that we cannot safely apply, ”they wrote in an editorial on CNN.

“It’s not a small sacrifice. These moments with our loved ones – time lost – cannot be returned. Yet we know that is the price of protecting each other and that we are not paying alone. Isolated in our own dining rooms and kitchens, scattered from coast to coast, we heal together ”, continued the Bidens.

Across the country, health experts and lawmakers have continued to urge Americans to practice social distancing during the holiday season as the country sees an increase in coronavirus cases.

In recent days, the president-elect has urged the public not to gather in groups of more than 10 people “in a room inside the house” in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the disease. He also called on the country to unite in the fight against the pandemic in his comments on Wednesday.

“I know the country is tired of the fight, but we have to remember that we are at war with a virus, not with each other. Not with each other,” the then president-elect said in a Thanksgiving speech. .

In their editorial on Thursday, the Bidens also told Americans, despite the non-traditional ways people celebrate the holiday this year, their “family will keep our most important tradition: taking a moment to count the many reasons why we must. be grateful. . “

They then thanked frontline workers, healthcare workers, researchers, educators and parents for their efforts during this months-long pandemic.

“We are grateful for the American spirit of our people, who do not curl up in the face of crisis and hardship, but instead unite to lift one another up. … More than anything, we are grateful for the faith and trust placed in us to continue to serve this beautiful, courageous and complicated nation as future President and First Lady, ”they said.

“This year of loss has revealed our collective strength. It showed us that our lives are invisibly linked – that we can be apart without being alone, ”they continued.

“May the emptiness at our tables and in our hearts be filled with memories of love and laughter. May we cherish our traditions, even when they are beyond reach, and hold out hope for what is yet to come. We will go through this together, even if we have to be apart, ”they added in their closing message. “Happy Thanksgiving, from the Biden family to yours.”