East County Times Column Nov. 28, 2008

Sometimes out of the mouth of babes comes the real story of what we should be thankful for. Little Kelly Reed is seven years old and this Thanksgiving she’s thankful that she and her mom still have their house to live in.
“I hear some people had their house closed,” she said. “Mom and I still live in ours. That’s something.”
With so many houses in the area in foreclosure, keeping their home seems to be the number one thing that Oakley residents are grateful for this Thanksgiving. When I was a kid my mom would say before we could dig into all the good food she had made we had to each tell what we were thankful for that year.
My three sisters and I used to roll our eyes every time we heard the question, because mom was tough. She didn’t want to hear about how we were glad we got a new toy, or that we were even thankful for her and my dad. She wanted us to dig deep and come up with something good. At seven years old, worrying that we would still have our house was the farthest thing from my mind. But times have changed.
When I thought to ask this question for a Thanksgiving Day column, I wanted to follow my mom’s rule and ask people to think outside of the box. Besides your family, what are you most thankful for? The important thing was to remember why the custom of Thanksgiving began in the first place: To remember that we as Americans have a lot to be thankful for even when our luck is down or even when the economy is bad and we are living from paycheck to paycheck.
Second on the list appeared to be good medical care and the fact that medical science has been able to keep someone alive another year. “I’m grateful for our emergency crew and ER workers,” said Mary Ross on line at Raley’s. “In America we may not have the best health plan services, but at least if there is an accident on the freeway the police and ambulance still show up to save our lives.”
Oakley City Councilman and member of the Friends of Oakley Foundation, Kevin Romick, said that he was thankful to be living in a community that gives. “We had a tragedy earlier this year and we thought that we would have to hurry up and get help to this family (Nunn and Wilson children) before everyone forgot about it, but here we are months later and there are people still giving fundraisers to help these kids.”
Like Romick, there are others grateful for Oakley’s small town appeal. “We live in a place where neighbors will help neighbors. I’m thankful for that,” said Lori James. “When my son was sick in Children’s Hospital a few months back, all my neighbors stepped in and helped. Without them my husband and I would have been a wreck.”
This evening when your family sits around the dinner table, take a page from my late mother who wouldn’t let us girls and my dad get away with taking the easy way out. Really think about it and ask each other, “What are you thankful for?” You’ll be happy you spent the time to think up an answer and the holiday will mean that much more.