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Every year around Thanksgiving, many people use social media to count down the number of things they are thankful for. 

It’s a great concept, and it really gets you thinking. We all have possessions we cherish, but when it’s time to list out what we’re truly thankful for, most of us top that list with family members and relationships that mean the world to us. 

We have plenty to be thankful for this year. We are thankful for our readers, who trust us to report the news in this community and to be unbiased and factual. We are thankful for our advertisers, who trust us to spread their marketing message. We’re also thankful for our families, who often put up with crazy hours as we work hard to produce a newspaper this community can be proud of. 

We’re thankful to live in such a giving community. 

We may not have the big-name restaurants or stores other surrounding cities have, but we have amenities many of them would be jealous of. 

On this Thanksgiving, we hope you can take a few minutes to get away. 

In 2021, where a smartphone call, video or text message connects everyone in the matter of seconds, there’s always more work to do. 

Where Zoom has become a normal part of life — calling in remotely to work wherever you are. 

Rarely, if ever, is there a chance to truly slow down, take a deep breath and relax. Vacations are great, but they aren’t quite the same as sitting around the table with family — moments that seem to happen less and less in the hustle and bustle of today’s world.

This week, at least on Thanksgiving, is a chance to do just that. 

It’s a chance to put the phones down, eat some turkey and have a big meal with friends and family. 

Even for those anxious to get ahead and to work hard, we hope that work can wait one extra day. 

Nothing is more valuable than time, and on Thursday we hope all of our readers will take a few hours to be thankful for family.

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are plenty of people in the world who won’t be able to spend time with family this year, such as the men and women in our military.  

Many law enforcement officers will also work the holiday, patrolling our streets and keeping us safe. 

And on this day of giving thanks, it’s important to remember that others might have a more difficult time than us this holiday season. 

Many area churches and groups have worked together to provide free meals to ensure no one goes hungry. 

Many will spend a portion of their Thanksgiving cooking meals for the less fortunate of our community. 

We encourage readers to get their fill of family and to soak up the memories.