As the year quickly comes to an end and we begin to celebrate with holidays, food, family and friends, try to remember to be kind. 

This time of year isn’t easy for everyone. There’s many of us grieving for various reasons. I know sometimes it isn’t easy to always turn the other cheek, but the truth is, we never really know what another person is going through, what they’re facing and what they’ve dealt with. We have not walked a mile in their shoes or even tried them on. 

Some of us will have empty chairs at our table as we spend some of the first holidays without a loved one. 

Some of us have empty chairs because of pride, guilt or remorse, but either way, the void that empty chair leaves on a holiday celebration is too deep to fill at times. 

It’s OK to feel sad this holiday season, if no one has ever told you. The grief process looks different for everyone and sometimes, it doesn’t look the happiest, obviously. But the thing is, you can’t stay there. 

I understand wanting to sit and cry because it’s the holidays! I understand wanting to just-flash forward to February or March! Who needs the ho-ho-ho nonsense anyway. But we can’t stay there. Nope. 

The folks who are still living need us. They need to bake grandma’s sugar cookies with you and talk about memories! The folks, our loved ones, they need us to find a speck of happiness somewhere in the sadness of the holiday cheer. 

It’s also a time to be thankful. 

Be thankful for the things that we have and thankful for the things that we don’t have. I don’t feel that we should have to have a specific day or holiday season to be thankful for all the good things in our lives, but sometimes I think that we get too wrapped up in our own lives to realize that everything that we have to be thankful for is right in front of our very eyes. Sometimes it’s hard to be thankful when it feels like the world kicks you in the gut and you just can’t get back up. But look around, my mom always used to say I’m pretty sure you know somebody who has it worse. I think she’s right. There is always someone hurting more than I hurt. There is always someone struggling with much more than I have ever struggled with. We all have lives and life is full of ups and downs. Some lows are like a bottomless pit and the sky can be the limit for some of the highs we experience. Truthfully, life is what we make it and the more thankful we are, the brighter things become.

On this turkey day, I hope you all take a moment to be extra kind to those around, recognize that grief comes in all sizes shapes and packages. The most importantly I hope you take the time to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving.