One way to be thankful is to write a note of thanks to people who are a blessing in our lives. The pandemic and the protests and the wildfires have hopefully heightened our gratefulness for public servants, such as hospital and nursing home personnel, police, and firefighters. Many public servants are at work while we are eating Thanksgiving dinner with our families. This would be a great time to express our appreciation. We could address a note of thanks to the nurses and doctors at a certain hospital, the police working out of a particular police station, or the fire crew at a specific fire station.

Of course there may be other people in our lives to whom we could give our thanks. What about a teacher, pastor, or maybe just a special aunt, uncle, friend, or neighbor who has been a blessing? How about someone on the radio, a favorite news reporter, a politician who seems to genuinely care about his or her constituents, or a musician whose music has blessed us?

This would be a great thing for kids to do, too, and hopefully begin a habit that will continue through life. Even if they are too young to write, they can draw a picture. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate a picture drawn from the heart of a child.

It’s good to be thankful, but the people who deserve our appreciation will never know that we value them if we don’t express it. Nothing can brighten a person’s day more than a sincere thank you.