Thanksgiving – a weekend of memories and thoughts of giving back.
Once again this year we will be celebrating two Thanksgiving Days – we had one here in Ontario and there will be another in November with our kids in California.
The first one, Canadian style, was celebrated with close friends on Sunday of the long weekend and with some of our children on Saturday. We, like so many other parents, never seem to be able to get enough time with our kids.
During the feasting and the endless rounds of stories and laughter, we are keenly aware of how truly grateful we are for everything that we, as Canadians, enjoy. Some off the top of my amateur columnist’s head are:
We live in a great democracy – albeit flawed at times, but nonetheless, one that gives us freedom to choose where we live and how we live. Although some of the politicians we vote into office don’t always meet our expectations, we should be happy that we have the freedom of choice to vote them out of office as well!
Most of us enjoy a good lifestyle – one in which we can choose to make an ample living, go on a vacation or two and if we’re prudent, have enough to retire on.
Our country is blessed with great vistas and numerous natural resources, as well as an abundant source of water and the energy it produces.
Some of us really don’t appreciate all that we have, such as the health-care system in our country, which is the envy of a great many nations. Although our highway and rail systems are behind other countries, we are assured of future improvements.
Let’s not leave out the farmers who provide us with more and more varieties of healthy choices at our supermarkets. That naturally leads me to how, in Canada and the U.S., we celebrate with the omnipresent bird of choice, the turkey. How did the turkey become our traditional choice for celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas? I don’t know, do you?
I know that we’ll have an abundance of turkey and all the trimmings, not only once, but twice! And if one of our other kids offers up another dinner, we’ll be there and enjoy being there to share in their celebratory dinner as well. There goes the diet!
We should always remember those less fortunate by donating to local, provincial and national charity causes and events. Such an event was the recent CIBC Annual Run for the Cure in which we participated. While the weather was somewhat damp, it did not at all dampen the spirit of the multitude of walkers and runners who came out on a Sunday morning to raise awareness and funds for a cure for cancer.
So, as we head toward the holiday season, I’d like all of you who are gracious enough to read my column to think about how you might give thanks to others in your community and beyond.
On to our U.S. Thanksgiving. Not to mention the Black Friday shopping madness my wife and daughter-in-law will be part of again this year. There goes the budget! Have a wonderful month in sales and keep those emails coming.
Stan Albert, broker/manager, ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. can be reached for consultation at stanalb@rogers.com. Stan is now celebrating his 43rd year as an active real estate professional.
Stan Albert, ABR, ASA is a consultant with Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. He can be reached for consultation by email. Stan is now celebrating his 45th year as an active real estate professional.
