Counting our blessings looks different this year
Our Thanksgiving gathering in 2020 will include family from Idaho (north and south), Montana, Utah, California, Arizona, Washington, Colorado, Kentucky and Ohio — and nary a one of us will be going through airport security, over the river or through the woods.
While earlier in this longest year ever I found myself cursing Zoom, I’ve mellowed. It was awkward and a poor substitute for real-life interaction for business, community organizations or family and friends. Now one month from the end of 2020 I’ve come to appreciate and be grateful for the technology that will allow us to come together as a family in multiple time zones and thousands of miles apart.
However you’re celebrating this day of thanks, be grateful if you’re still standing. Several friends and acquaintances in recent weeks have privately shared personal battles and health struggles that are enormous.
In a normal or good year these difficulties would take people to the mat, but in this year of isolation the weight is magnified. Again I encourage everyone to be kind and show grace and remember the dated but still valuable advice … if you can’t say something nice, just shush.
To those who are suffering and struggling, if today all you did was hold yourself together … take a bow.
Random holiday week musings ... As I demonstrate every year since I was a little girl, and now to the delight or embarrassment of my daughters and grandsons, you are never too old to stick black olives on your fingers at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Why shop local? Local businesses pay local taxes, provide paychecks, donate and contribute to organizations and events throughout the year. If not for local businesses, who would be donating to the auctions, raffles, scholarships, grad night parties, senior centers, charitable causes, youth sports sponsorships etc., etc.?
This Christmas season let your gift giving pay it forward in our communities … SHOP LOCAL every day!
Happy Thanksgiving Eve! A favorite quote that’s particularly appropriate in this season of thankfulness … “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — John F. Kennedy
Happy birthday today to Nelda House (80!), Aniyah Colbert, John Cocoran, Sue Thilo, Sue Servick, Kelly Westover, Buck Wilhelm and Babette Banducci. Thankful for their Thanksgiving birthdays are Tom Torgerson, Marilyn Fisher, Elijah Ott, Danell Phelps and Sandy Osburn. On Friday Rocky Shaver, Sue Hutter and Bob Eachon will celebrate.
Katie King, Cody and Tristan Webb, Breanna Joyner and Judy Dahl will share Saturday birthdays. On Sunday Carol Ann Eachon and Jodine Spry are the birthday girls. Kevin Ekness, Larry Quimby, Carol Kreighbaum, Raine Solberg, Carolyn Walker, Shirley Thagard, Kevin Krieg and Cindy Scinto take another trip around the sun on the last day of the month. The first day of December will find Chris Pappas, Marge Chadderdon, Jay Bremner, Emily Castle and Connie Price putting on their party hats.
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.