A Pause for Thanks

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Hello everyone!

I’ll be resuming the Which Word? series next time, but with Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment today to reflect on thankfulness.

There seems to be a growing trend in the USA where we move straight from Halloween to Christmas. It’s long since been the case that stores start carrying Christmas items as early as August, but I’ve noticed that in the past few years, more and more signs of Christmas have started emerging on November 1. This year in particular, I saw many declarations of “The Christmas season has arrived!” the day after Halloween. And while I certainly understand the desire to jump into what is one of my personal favorite times of year, it makes me a bit sad to think of how that sort of leaves Thanksgiving by the wayside. We end up jumping from candy and costumes to presents and carols without leaving any space for gratitude in between.

And we have so much to be thankful for. Any of us with a safe place to sleep tonight can be thankful for that, particularly in light of the recent terrorist attacks across the world and the thousands of refugees currently without a home. Any of us with a job that allows us to meet our basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter can be thankful for that. Any of us with families or friends to share in our joys and divide our sorrows can be thankful for that. Any of us with generally good health can be thankful for that. Any of us able to indulge in leisure activities, travel, and the latest electronic gadgets can be thankful for that. Any of us who live somewhere with the freedom to practice any religion we choose; to speak our minds; to vote; to associate with any political party we choose; to protest peacefully without fear for our lives; to be tried by a fair court for any crimes of which we are accused; to marry whomever we choose; to receive an education regardless of our race, socioeconomic status, or gender; to work at any job we choose; and to own property–we can be thankful for that.

I hope that you will join me in taking a moment to pause tomorrow to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. We all have something to be thankful for.

Until next time!

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About Sarah Dawson

For nearly a decade, I have worked with both corporate and independent authors to perfect their writing prior to its publication. As a freelancer, the services I offer include proofreading, copyediting (light, medium, and heavy), substantive editing, rewriting, and writing. Whatever the type of service I provide, I consider myself a liaison between author and reader; my job is to convey the author’s message to the reader in the clearest, most pleasing way possible. Among my particular areas of expertise are educational materials and child and young adult literature. My background as an educator and a school librarian gives me unique insight into how to make such writing exceptional. I have also worked extensively with corporate writers, working on text for use in marketing, employee education, and websites. I welcome all inquiries. Let me know how I can help perfect your writing!