Happy week of Thanksgiving!  The year 2020 has almost (thankfully) come to an end.  It has been a bit rough for everyone but let us remember we have so much to be grateful for.  It is almost the start of a new year.  Let us begin this new year with positive thinking and humble beginnings.

We have the privilege of celebrating another Thanksgiving this Thursday.  Maybe this year more so than past years it is extra important to give thanks for what we have.  In addition to the coronavirus that has plagued so many lives globally and spread hardship throughout communities, 2020 has imposed an assortment of additional challenges. From job and financial loss, to civil unrest, to a record-setting hurricane season and devastating wildfires to death and depression, there are so many ugly words that describe the past 10 months.  This Thursday we need to celebrate.  We have made it to another Thanksgiving, another orbit around the sun.  Those that I know have much to be thankful for, including a roof over our heads, food on our tables, and time shared with our loved ones.  Some of these daily blessings we take for granted.  Maybe we need to do more to remind ourselves how much we really have.  Maybe we start celebrating giving thanks a little more.

What does your Thanksgiving look like?  This week I’ll be spending some time doing what I love.  I plan to take my puppy dogs on some beautiful Ocracoke beach walks, visit with some family members, catch up on my reading list, and count my blessings.  Each day is a gift.  Enjoy it.

“When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.” – Tecumseh

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” – Meister Eckhart