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In most homes this Thanksgiving, the dining room table will have a few less faces around it this year. For most, smaller gatherings will be necessary to avoid spreading COVID-19, the illness that has seemingly taken over our lives in 2020.

But in some households, those kitchen chairs will be empty because someone lost their life to COVID-19 (or some other ailment) over the course of the last year. It’s going to be different having less family around. Some will even wear masks, so we won’t see everyone’s smiling faces.

Many of you reading this are used to huge family gatherings. It might be that one time a year where you see your aunt, uncle or cousin. But, we’re going to adjust, and next year, we’ll hopefully be back to gigantic family gatherings.

It’s going to be a strange day for many of us, but even in this weird year, there’s so much to be thankful for — perhaps more than ever.

If you’re reading this in the middle of a pandemic and you have your health, then you should be extremely thankful today.  If you have a good, well-paying job (or really any job), then be thankful. Many people have had to adjust, take on new careers or are still looking for work after the way the pandemic impacted our economy.

If you have a roof over your head, be thankful. And if you’re surrounded by people who love you — even if they are looking at you through a Zoom call on a telephone or laptop — then be thankful.

And of course, if you like to watch the Cowboys and Lions lose, then we hope you have a big smile on your face. Today is probably for you.

We know we have a lot to be thankful for today as a newspaper.

We’re extremely thankful for all of our subscribers, who have stuck with us through this pandemic and trusted us to provide factual information on how things are affecting our community. We’re also thankful for our advertisers, who have stayed with us through uncertain, unprecedented times.

We hope you also will wake up today and realize all the reasons you have to be thankful. We hope the turkey is good, the football is competitive, and that family (even in smaller doses) fills your heart with joy this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!