Day to be thankful for our own colony

If only we could record all the things said between people on a given day in this country. Then did a search of the transcript to see how many times the word "thanks" came up in the conversations.

It would show up a lot, certainly. But not frequently enough. We can never say thanks too many times.

But today is a day dedicated to that warm, wonderful word. Thanks.

Today's giving of thanks is not like the first of its kind. Pilgrims were grateful to have survived harsh conditions in a new world.

Yet we are, in our own way, like the Pilgrims. We have established our own special colonies. Warm, comfortable homes in which we have raised families. And have hosted friends.

Today, all the colonists gather at the dinner table.

We thank them for their love. For their guidance. For their strong shoulders upon which we rested heads made heavy with grief, doubt and regret. For being there to share in those moments of great joy.

And we will be thankful we have endured our own challenging times to thrive and be happy with life, with each other.

Not all share in this joy and sense of accomplishment, of course. Life has been too hard, of late or in its entirety, to be grateful for much.

They must get the chance to say thanks to someone who understands, who cares, who will show them hope through compassion, be it an old friend, a new friend, a volunteer who gives of his or her time to help deliver them from despair. Who will bring them to a safe harbor, where they can build their own new colony where there is contentment.

And there will be thanks that come with a dose of pain.

Thanks that a child is happy and healthy, though far away and not much interested in communicating with the family. Thanks that a loved one fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is safe, on this day, though wishing the wars were over. Thankful to still have a job, though missing the old one that the economy ordered out of existence. Thanks that an illness has not stopped you from enjoying life, but still hoping for a cure.

Still, it is better to be thankful for what you have, even if in small measure, than to be consumed by bitterness that allows no sun to rise on your horizon.

So gather with your colonists, and enjoy the holiday. Enjoy each other's company. Enjoy the food and drink. Enjoy the football games, if viewing such is part of your holiday tradition.

And give thanks that you have each other. You are not together by chance. You've built bonds of love and friendship through the years that hold you together this day, every day, till the world is too tired to make one more revolution.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Daily Herald. And thank you for reading us.