Happy Thanksgiving from Lifestyle Real Estate Services.

I remember growing up and hearing adults say, “Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.” As a kid, I didn’t get it — there’s no candy, there’s no presents, there’s no warm-weather barbecue out on the patio. It just seemed like a bunch of food and time spent sitting around with adults listening to boring conversation.

I guess I’m getting older, though, because these days Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as well. I was fortunate when I was a kid; my life life was pretty simple. And, while I count myself as a rather fortunate adult, I’m not so delusional that I forget the disappointments, hardships and struggles the hand of life has dealt me.

Thanksgiving is, for me, both a holiday and an exercise. Sometimes it’s not easy to answer the question, “What am I thankful for?” I can’t answer that question while I’m being sentimental about the “good ol’ days” of times past; I also can’t answer it while making plans for the future. It’s a “present day” kind of question — what am I thankful for right now?

I’m thankful for a future that seems brighter than the past, and for the incredible progress Lifestyle Real Estate Services has made in its first year of getting off the ground. I’m thankful for my dad and that if I get too busy and forget to call, my next call is met with equal amounts of guilt and sarcasm (“Well, are you still alive?!). I’m thankful for my friends, many of whom I consider family, and I’m so proud of the positive direction of their lives and careers. I’m also thankful for our clients — I’m not working for one person, right now, that I don’t like!

As you take time to be with your family and friends, take an opportunity to be by yourself and to make a list (no matter how short or long!) of things for which you’re thankful. Don’t be shy, though; sharing your thankfulness with those around you encourages them to do the same. On one day, or every day, that’s an incredibly powerful way to live.

Happy Thanksgiving!