The holidays are a time of year to reflect, spend time with family and friends, and be thankful for all of the wonderful things in our lives. For many of us, the holidays are a joyous time. However, having worked in customer service for as long as I have, I’ve learned that not everyone is s lucky. For many, the holidays can be a very unhappy time. In this week’s blog, and with Thanksgiving being next week, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the importance of not only being thankful, but being kind to those who appear to not be.

For many of us, we have holiday traditions. Whether it be football, Thanksgiving dinner, cooking family-favorite recipes, or decorating, we all have our favorite ways to celebrate. For me, I love spending Christmas Eve at my church, and taking a few moments after the service to sit outside with a mug of hot coffee, and enjoying the weather. For those of you who have kids, the holidays are even more special. They have a innocent excitement for the season, especially when they’re young.

For some people, the holidays can be an incredibly lonely time. Perhaps they've experienced a death in the family, they've been laid off of their job, or they don't have family members in town. For these people, it's very easy to find all of the negative things about the holidays, and project those negativities on other people. To them, the holidays are an inconvenience, rather than a celebration.

The point of this week’s blog is to encourage you all to be extra kind this holiday season. We all have issues we’re dealing with, and we never know the severity of what others are struggling with. So, this holiday season, I encourage you all to be grateful for what you have, and be compassionate towards those who may not. And, if you have the opportunity, take the time to assure someone that they aren’t alone.