Giving thanks | Readers share their gratitude

It has become a tradition here at the Journal and the Sounder to share anonymous submissions of what community members are grateful for each year. We are always thankful for you, our readers and supporters!

Below is a list of what some of our readers are thankful for:

• I am grateful for warm days, and cozy nights. I’m grateful for holiday food and cheerful lights. I’m grateful for covered smiles in grocery aisles. I’m grateful for island crops and local shops. I’m grateful for small-town news and late-ferry blues. I’m grateful for the love of my friends and how far my family extends. I’m grateful for acres of forest and birds singing in chorus. Let’s let gratitude bind us and often remind us not to let the fear blind us. May the virus not mind us and once it’s behind us let’s remember the kindness that we found inside us.

• I am grateful to live in a community where people look each other in the eye, know your name, actually want an answer to ‘how are you’ and look after each other. I’m grateful that my children still seem to genuinely enjoy our company and enjoy being home. I’m grateful to have friends who would take a bullet for me. I’m grateful that my body still does most everything I ask it to without complaining. I’m grateful that, while Covid has caused so much tragedy, heartache and inconvenience, that it’s also made the planet cleaner than it’s been in years and has slowed our hectic pace considerably. I am grateful that our country is getting a leader who has empathy, kindness and a generous heart.

And mostly, I’m grateful for my wife. She is simply the best person I’ve ever known and I can’t believe how fortunate I feel that she picked me.

• Grateful to have so many friends and neighbors that would lend a tool, meal, joint, or hand at the drop of a hat – because they trust that we would do the same for them. To me, that’s true community!

• I’m grateful for all the human and dog love that surrounds me every day. I am incredibly thankful that we have all managed to stay healthy and safe during these troublesome times. I’m grateful that Amanda continues to get better all the time. I’m hopeful that the future will bring more things to be appreciative for on a grander scale.

• There is so much to be grateful for! Dear friends who laugh and cry with us in these crazy times. Frogs croaking and birds singing in the early morning light glowing through bare tree branches. Children who run and dance and laugh with abandon. Warm soft beds, blue skies, time to reflect, and music that stirs the soul are all here for us to celebrate!

• I am thankful for my amazing family. I am grateful for my little dog. As we must forego holiday celebrations this year, I am extremely thankful for ALL my wonderful memories of holidays in the past. I am grateful for my life.