It is important to make your list

Make your list on Thursday.

Do it silently. Write it down if you’d like. Share it with someone if you’d like.

But even if you do it mentally and keep it to yourself, it’s important on this particular day to acknowledge what we’re thankful for.

Think for a moment about the everyday blessings that befall us:

•Music in all its rapturous forms.

•Infants new to the world.

•Seniors whose lives have spanned scores of years and encompassed thousands of joys and sorrows, lessons learned and lessons given.

•Volunteers — at food banks, community Thanksgiving meals and working behind the scenes performing tasks we too often overlook.

•Those working today to keep us safe: Health care workers, 911 dispatchers, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

•The crisp blue of an autumn sky on a sunny day, the rich gold of those leaves littering your lawn and even the snow flurries now making their appearance.

•Family: Parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

•Teachers who shaped us and made us what we are today.

•Democracy, free press and civil debate.

•Friends, both old and new.

•Books and the storytellers whose tales let us escape to different worlds.

•The power of compassion and incredible impact that words of comfort can convey.

•The annual miracle that plants hope in the soil each spring and brings a harvest each fall.

You get the picture, and you can make your own list.

The important thing is that you do it.

Move away from the dinner table.

Turn off the football game. 

And reflect.

Count your blessings and give thanks.

After all, that’s what the day is for. — J.R.