There is much to be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving.

Today is a day for spending time with friends and family enjoying a good meal and good conversation.

It also is a day for giving thanks and being grateful.

I am thankful to be able to spend the day with my family, including both of my parents. I’m thankful to have a husband who adores me, and who I adore in return.

I’m thankful to have a home where I feel safe and that protects me from the elements. And I’m thankful that we can prepare a delicious meal in our remodeled kitchen, where everything seems to taste so much better lately.

I’m thankful to have a job that I enjoy, where what I do can make a difference in someone’s life and in a place that is filled with people who give so much of themselves to others.

Though I try my best to have a positive and rosy outlook, I am not so naive to believe that no one has trials and tribulations in their lives. We all do, including me.

Yet, everyone should have at least one thing to be thankful for.

Recently, I spoke with Mona Goddard, who is grateful for the special people in her life who have gone out of their way to make sure she has a place to call home.

Once a resident of Boulder City Mobile Home Park, Mona’s fifth-wheel trailer is now safely ensconced in Eldorado Mobile Home Park. And she has the owners of her former residence to thank.

When it became apparent that the mobile home park was going to be closed, Mona said the park’s owner and manager did everything they could to get her and her trailer moved.

“All I had to do was take the stuff off the walls,” she said.

Others in the community are grateful to programs such as Emergency Aid of Boulder City and Christian Center Church for their compassionate care.

Just days before Thanksgiving, the church was given a gift of 20 frozen turkeys by Southwest Diner. So in addition to the birds it bought for its holiday meal boxes, its pantry program was busy helping those who needed a little extra, said Pastor Kevin Dolbee.

A partner with Three Square food bank, the church regularly feeds 100 families a week. It also runs the Experienced Merchandise shop on Nevada Way, which provides clothing to those in need as well as raises funds to provide scholarships to its daycare program for working parents.

Emergency Aid assisted another 120 families with turkeys and groceries, said Helen Breeden, director of the nonprofit.

She is grateful to the community and its residents, which “provides us the means to do all this.” Through food drives and donations, as well as the volunteer manpower, Emergency Aid is able to help feed 7,800 people through its pantry and provide special assistance such as funds for rent, utilities and bus passes to 1,200 people.

But it doesn’t stop there. Both programs also are busy finding “angels” to help make the holidays brighter for those who can’t afford gifts and extras, especially for their children.

For those who work so diligently to help others, we can all give thanks this year. And I thank you for letting me share word of your good deeds and to those who take the time to read about them.

May each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with good food, love and laughter in a place where you can count your blessings.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.