Give Thanks

It’s that time of year when we as a society give thanks. We share our time with family and friends in the ever popular Thanksgiving dinner. However, there are those who are not able to be with their loved ones at the dinner table or other festive gatherings. We are quick to decorate and plan for the meal, but we give little thought to the idea of giving thanks. 

Giving thanks costs nothing. It’s free to do. It is something we are taught as children. Well, most of us. However, it is so easy to forget to say this to someone. When another person holds the door for you, do you just walk on by forgetting to say “thank you” to the person who took the time to be courteous?  Are you the kind of person who holds the door or are you the type of person who cares only for yourself?  

I have a friend who I work with at Troy Daily News whose name is Lynn. Her son Zach is a firefighter for both Union and Vandalia. Instead of spending Thanksgiving at home with his daughter, who will be experiencing her first turkey dinner this year, he will be awaiting calls at the firehouse. He and other brave souls alike are sacrificing their time with loved ones to make sure that our holidays are safe. Police officers, firefighters, medics, nurses, doctors, and many other professionals will be giving up their time on this day of thanks to make sure that we have people available to take care of our needs. That should make anyone feel good. Time is not free, but these people are giving it up to make sure that others are safe.  Maybe if you have extra food, fix up a plate or two and take them in to your local firehouses, police stations, hospitals, and such I’m sure they’d like a nice Thanksgiving meal. If that’s too much then maybe a nice plate of cookies will do the trick. Just something to let them know you appreciate them. 

The same can be said for our troops. There are brave soldiers stationed overseas and throughout our own country that won’t be sitting around the table sharing memories with their families this Thanksgiving holiday and we should give thanks for them. Veterans who fought to protect our freedoms, I appreciate you and I hope you go out of your way to thank them. Maybe even share a hug. Hugs are free and if we shared more hugs maybe people would be happier during the holiday season. I’m not saying go up and hug random angry people in the store, but certainly hug a Veteran and tell them thank you. 

How about the moms and dads who have to be at work on Thanksgiving so they can pay the bills? The ones who’d rather be sitting around the house spending time with their families but instead are at their jobs working long hours and are still smiling and taking care of customers or unending work issues. Those people deserve a smile and a “thank you” as well. Tell them they are doing a good job and you appreciate them.

Everyone deserves to be appreciated in their own way and we need to learn to say “thank you” more often. It’s not difficult and it goes a long way. Plus, it’s nice to know that you are giving something to someone else and what better gift than to give thanks. Thank you.