Each fall, as our homes fill with the sights, smells and sounds of the impending holiday season, we also find ourselves counting our blessings.

Thanksgiving brings friends and family together again to join in a feast. While our blessings are abundantly clear during these events, it also reminds us to be thankful daily.

Although many of our day-to-day activities can be the source of frustration, we should realize that many are in fact blessings in disguise and should be viewed as such.  Consider the following:

The farmer on his tractor that inches his way along the twisty and narrow two-lane highway may have caused you to be late for work, but his hard work and the years of back breaking labor on that old rusty tractor has allowed for the feast on your table to be as plentiful this year as it was last.

After a hectic day of work, you run to the corner store, but they are out of nearly all of the items on your list.  Be thankful for the small town corner store, the jobs it provides and the history it holds.  Many have been forced to close their doors the past few years turning the “quick trip to the store” into a 30 minute drive to the nearest gas station/convenience store, hoping they have the items you need.

The frustration of another busier than average day at work, causing you to work later than anticipated. Be thankful and count your blessings. In the past few years, many people have lost their jobs, and too many of them are still looking for work. There are those who would call you blessed to have the very job that is sometimes so frustrating.

For those of us who are older, it is easy to caution our children to have patience with their own young ones. The loud noises, doors slamming, cries in the middle of the night and what seems like an endless list of needs and wants, from our children, no matter their age, are blessings and moments to cherish.

Our families are truly the most divine blessing any of us could have. I hope you take the time this holiday season to count your blessings and spend time making more memories. Next year, those memories will be additional blessings for which to be thankful.

As always, I appreciate it when groups from around Missouri and from our community back home come to visit me at the Capitol, however during interim I may be in district. If you would like to arrange a time to come and visit me in Jefferson City, or if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact my Capitol office at (573) 751-1882.