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Many people here and beyond are giving thanks that the 2022 General Election is, for the most part, over and that conversations around today's "turkey tables" might involve less talk about politics and more about family cohesiveness and care, concern and love for one another.
Indeed, there is much to be thankful for on numerous fronts on this first of the year-end holidays.
Here are several:
Every family should be thankful for the significant progress achieved in the battle against the coronavirus -- a scourge that only two years ago had virtually every household in its deadly sights, in America and, actually, throughout the rest of the world.
Be thankful for family members who have overcome COVID-19 and other illnesses, or other kinds of adversity, including deteriorations in family life and personal relationships.
Never forget to be thankful regarding one's own children who are excelling in school, college, as a member of a military service or in a job of their choice, and otherwise embracing respect and dedication on the always challenging road toward making the most of their lives.
Don't fail to acknowledge and be thankful for the strength of this nation and its leaders on all levels who are working hard for the benefit of those whom they serve.
Reflect fondly on community improvements, new businesses and other positive endeavors that the past 12 months have brought.
Be thankful for the privilege of being an American.
And, of course, be thankful for those whose holiday consists first of trying to help the needy, including helping to serve Thanksgiving dinner to the poor and homeless.
All that said, it is important nonetheless to point out on this day of thanks that this country needs a strong dose of hate- and animosity-relief medicine, considering all that has happened over the past several years.
It needs counseling about how best to overcome setbacks and disappointment -- how to change setbacks into strides geared toward success.
Be grateful -- thankful -- for your personal ability to resist temptations aimed at undermining and dividing, as well as for your right to decide, based on your own beliefs and personal convictions.
Thanksgiving has a central, obvious purpose and goal, but it is so much more, for those willing to open their hearts to what is good.
Use the spirit of this day as a beginning toward something better for you, your community, your state and your nation, and approach the future with more optimism than uncertainty or pessimism.
The word "optimism" is an integral ingredient in the word "thanks," albeit silently. Wall Street Journal editor Clare Ansberry focused on "optimism amid thanks" -- as in Thanksgiving -- in a Nov. 21, 2019, Journal article that remains as relevant today for many families as it was back then.
Under the headline "As parents age, families grapple with how to keep traditions going," Ansberry wrote:
"There comes a point when mom and dad can't host 30 people in the house anymore, or can't afford the cost or get so exhausted it takes two weeks for them to recover. If they can no longer provide that leadership and bring the family together, someone has to pick up the ball. If no one does, then the family is at risk of becoming a diminished version of itself.
Undoubtedly, many thousands of families have wrestled with that reality leading up to today and hopefully made the right decisions.