One of my favorite Thanksgivings to remember is the year I spent standing duty aboard the USS Wasp. It was a bittersweet holiday that year: bitter because I was missing my family; but still sweet because I had friends on the ship that were standing duty with me, and we passed the time together as much as we could. It was something small to be thankful for.

Nowadays I spend a lot of time thinking about people who spend the holidays in a similar situation as mine, those who are overseas, the homeless – people who have the misfortune to spend the holiday somewhere other than where they would most wish to be. My prayers go out to them. The fact that I now have the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with my family is just another thing to be thankful for.

I mention these things that I’m thankful for, because over the past couple days I’ve noticed some things that might diminish the bigger meaning of Thanksgiving. Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you also have this sense of society trying to tell you to not be thankful for the things you have – between the media pushing Black Friday, and your local social justice warriors reminding you (quite venomously) that there are still protesters getting injured at Standing Rock, it gets difficult to admit to being thankful for something. It almost feels like a confession.

I have always loved Thanksgiving, even in those years when it didn’t seem as if I had much to be thankful for. Thanksgiving is the day to step back and recognize the light in the darkness, and appreciate the things we do have, even if they are little. This year I’m thankful for my family and friends, every improvement I aim for, and every morning I wake up with another chance to keep moving forward and spread love.