It has been a difficult year. Expressing gratitude this Thanksgiving Season feels like a different offering than I have given before. In the past, it was easy to list the things that were good in my life. Things tritely listed without understanding what it meant not to have them. I think this year has brought into perspective for me and probably many of us, what it means to be thankful for what we have, even in the face of difficulty. Family is that much dearer this year as we celebrate together this holiday season or apart through love for each other. The touch and time of loved ones no longer is the easy answer given at Thanksgiving, but instead has new meaning as we reflect on those we’ve lost, those we’ve been far from, and those we hold close over this season.

For me, this Thanksgiving Season, I am thankful for people who have shown me love and compassion throughout the last few months on the good days and the bad days as we all have had. I am thankful for the community of people I see around me both in family, in friends, in co-workers, in farmers, in customers who continue to show resiliency and a heart for one another. I am thankful for my feet that have continued to walk and work and play through hard times. I am thankful for where I have been and where I am going. I am thankful for the food I have grown. I am thankful for the skills I have taught my hands. I am thankful for my milk cow and cats. I am thankful for the unquenchable joy that life brings me and those around me.

I am thankful.