(Editor's Notes by Christina Myer - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Anyone else fighting the urge to break with tradition and put up the Christmas decorations this weekend instead of next, because it feels as though we’re losing a week of twinkly lights compared with last year? (Well, five days, to be precise, but who’s counting?)

It’s a good thing I like Thanksgiving so much. Food, family, football, and a day set aside for expressing our gratitude: What’s not to like?

For many of us, a lot for which we should be thankful is also the stuff we take for granted: roof over our heads, bed to sleep in at night, lights on, water running, a car or two in the driveway, clothes in the closet, food in the kitchen, gainful employment, family, friends … maybe a pet or two for good measure. For those of us who also are in good health, all those things are magnified.

There are too many among us who can attest to that long list NOT being items to be taken for granted.

Sure, we’ve all got our reasons to grump once in a while. We should be grateful we’re free to grump, too.

But if you find yourself grumbling about something, maybe take a minute to look back at what you’re not grumbling about and think about whether you’d feel better if there was something you could do to help more people check a couple of those boxes.

Because here’s the thing: You can. Organizations all over the Mid-Ohio Valley are just waiting to show you how.

For me, it’s always struck me that we celebrate all our reasons to be thankful with the best food most of us prepare or consume all year.

How this became a season of culinary competition is beyond me, but I’m not complaining.

There are stuffing/dressing wars of course. Inside the bird or not? Chestnuts? Oysters? Apples? Cornbread? At some gatherings, it will be all-of-the-above.

Deep fry the turkey? Brine it? Go rogue and serve ham and/or deer?

Ice cream on the pumpkin pie? Maybe just whipped cream? Maybe nothing because you’re just hoping it lasts long enough that you get a piece.

Here’s one I’ve gone back and forth on: Cranberry sauce — so fresh from the can that the lines are still around the side, or so fresh from the produce aisle that the cranberries pop pleasantly as they are simmered with sugar on the stovetop?

Perhaps one way to help someone else take part is to round up the makings of a traditional Thanksgiving meal (with as many non-perishable elements as possible) and take enough for a meal or two (or 10) to your local food pantry. Give them a call, first, though. Find out what they need and whether they have a special plan for distribution ahead of the holiday.

As your Thanksgiving meal winds down and talk turns to “So, what do you want for Christmas?” please remember there are ways you can help others on that front, too.

We’ve got to be thankful there are so many ways to make a difference if we just look.

Enjoy the day, do your part to help someone else enjoy it, and one other reminder: If you are a fan of the Lions, Bears, Cowboys, Giants, Packers or Dolphins (or just the NFL in general), please remember to reposition yourself on the couch a time or two as well.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com