Judith Sutherland

Our rural community is celebrating an incredible last-second win in regional football post-season play.

We each carry Thanksgiving memories, from earliest childhood to the first years as a young adult, far from family, to the years of building unique traditions of our own.

“This is a reminder to let you know that you are not here just to do stuff, just to perform duties and complete tasks. You are here also to feel happy, and content, and inspired and well within yourself. You are here to have some fun, create meaningful moments and find the sparkle in your eyes again. You are here to unravel the magic of being alive, the magic of being you. To heal, to feel whole again. Do something today that lights you up. That activates your joy. That brings about a genuine smile from your heart. You are worth the effort.”

I am convinced that nothing will keep us young at heart like spending time with a happy child. It can also serve as a slice of humble pie.

One of my father’s most often repeated sentiments revolved around his happiest years: “The very best years were when all our kids were under the same roof.”

When we think of those who have been blessings in our life, there are some who served, unknowingly, as heroes.

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

Sometimes, the unexpected falls into our path, and we find out what one is capable of in the blink of an eye.

Across rural communities, big, old barns have offered many things to the farm families who owned them over the decades, most of them quite practical. But in the eyes of the youngest of those families, the barns held something at least a little bit magical.

“The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.”