Editor’s note: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, our readers wrote to us to share what they’re thankful for. Here is another selection of those letters. To view more letters, click here. We will publish the remainder on Thursday.
Glory of the dawn
I’m thankful for getting to see a golden-morning sunrise after enduring a period of gloomy gray days. I’m thankful that I get to enjoy my trusting tabby sleeping on my legs while I relax on the couch after a long workday. I’m thankful for the relationship I have with my teenage son and that he still enjoys spending time with me.
I’m thankful for my playful husband and the way we laugh both at each other and ourselves. I’m thankful that I got to see many members of my family this year and that even though we might not agree on certain matters, we can talk about it respectfully. I’m thankful for my friends near and far and the memories we’ve made.
I’m thankful for the people I get to work alongside and how supportive we are of each other even during times of uncertainty. I’m thankful for my local baristas and how they help get my day off to a positive start.
As I write this and think about it, the theme that rises to the top is I’m thankful for my relationships. They give my life meaning, purpose, joy and wisdom. That’s a whole lot to be thankful for!
— Tanya Lopez, Glen Ellyn
Gratitude in America
I am grateful for the innate innocence of children who make me smile with their questions about what it feels like to be at least 100 years old (although I am only 74!), while they softly rub my crinkly hand to bring us closer together.
I am grateful for the sound of the birds’ fluttering wings and the wetness of fall leaves as I briskly walk my two beloved pups, sucking in the crisp air as deeply as I can.
I am grateful for the love of all my kids, who put family first on Sunday nights as we share a laughter-filled dinner, a four-generation tradition.
And I am thankful to live in America, because even with all its messiness and chaos, it remains a place where, when we practice loving kindness toward all humans, we can live in relative peace and freedom, as our Founding Fathers envisioned for millions of people not even born when they put their feather pens to paper 238 years ago.
— Carole Klein-Alexander, Riverwoods
Be kind and careful
As we near the end of the first year of this period of fear, I am comforted by acts of kindness done for me by a complete stranger, as undeserving as I was.
Nearly three years ago, I hit a woman as I turned left and she walked into an intersection. I did not see her until she went over the hood of my car. My guess is the sun was in my eyes, but I should have stopped or at least inched along until I was sure no one was there. Right away, the injured woman was kind to me, letting me know she knew it wasn’t on purpose.
She was again kind to me when we met in court two months later, and I apologized. It was the first day the woman walked without a cane or walker. Even though she was crying, the woman and her husband told me that they knew this accident was unintentional.
And when the case settled, the injured woman sent me a beautiful note: “I want to thank you for staying with me after the accident. I know it was a split-second mistake. There are many lessons for us throughout our lives. This came with many lessons of growth, strength, acts of kindness and new tests. I hope you are able to move beyond this and find peace, happiness and joy.”
I sent the woman a card thanking her for her understanding and for the great example she had set for me.
Let’s all make sure we make the needed adjustments, such as slowing down or stopping when the sun or other obstacles keep us from seeing clearly. And let’s be aware that the sun may be in the other person’s eyes.
Kindness and understanding, even to complete strangers, and even when we’re hurting, may help us cope with these terribly stressful times.
— Kevin Coughlin, Evanston
My mother’s example
Recently driving back from northern Wisconsin after a weekend celebrating my mother’s 108th birthday, I had much to reflect upon. My mother was born on the ninth of November in 1917. And she knows it. Talk about being thankful; the list seems unimaginable.
Born before women had the right to vote, she once shared with me how proud she was to have voted for all women on her ballot. I don’t believe she ever missed an opportunity to cast her vote. When she talks of some of her exploits working in D.C., Chicago and Detroit during the war, she was grateful for the kindness and care of the Pullman porters who looked after the petite 4-foot-11 young woman traveling alone. She shared how, when visiting her cousin in New York in 1942, she had a chance to see and hear a “guy with a lousy voice,” Irving Berlin, sing “Oh! How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning” onstage.
My mother started the “Sick Loan Cupboard” in her northern Wisconsin hometown to gather and redistribute no-longer-needed durable medical equipment — at no charge to the recipients.
However, the thing I, as her only child, am most thankful for is the role model she is for me and for all those fortunate to cross her path. She can still charm with her smile and deliver a “cut to the chase” quip. She has achieved what many have strived for, as she keeps her head where her feet are. She doesn’t regret the past nor does she fear the future.
She and I are thankful for the blessing that is today.
— Barry Tusin, Wheaton
Living fully human
To give thanks can occasionally be daunting. A joyful, thankful heart is mine in times of plenty, good health and merry celebration. Yet, how do I rally when the tide has turned? How can I be thankful when a loved one falls ill, an unexpected expense makes an appearance or attendance at a funeral is all-important?
These are the times that prod me to dig deep, to look beyond the circumstance. Is there a lesson to be learned? Have I truly appreciated the gift of family and friends? Am I being called to pause, breathe and ponder in silence? The choice is mine. I can give thanks or bemoan the experience.
To be thankful at all times is a true expression of living fully human.
— Mary Jo Ingolia, Schaumburg
To all the fighters
I am thankful that cancer is no longer a mandatory death sentence. One of my younger brothers, Rick, is battling cancer for the second time in his life. Things look good, and if all goes well, he’ll be done with treatment by the end of 2025. I truly don’t know what our families would do without him! In addition, my friends Jennifer, Diane and Dan are living their lives to their fullest as they treat their incurable cancers into remission or stabilization.
Finally, in the most cruel type of cancer (childhood cancer), I want to give a huge shout-out all the way to Boston to “Johnny Strong” and the entire Morris family. What an inspirational boy and family!
This holiday season, may all who are financially able, give to others in need and support cancer research as much as possible. We all know and love many with this horrible disease in all its forms. Love, peace and health to all the fighters out there!
— Terri Lipsitz, Highland Park
My faith and family
My Top 10 Thankful List:
I am thankful for my faith in God and Mother Mary, for providing the rest of my list and always listening to my prayers.
I am forever thankful for my husband of almost 40 years and his love for me and our family.
I am thankful for being a “boy” mom and grammy.
I am thankful for my great daughters-in-law who love our sons as much as we do!
I am thankful for my grandsons P&P and their unconditional love.
I am thankful my parents, even though they are gone; their many life lessons live on.
I am thankful for my five older siblings to learn and grow from.
I am thankful for my dear friends and their unwavering support in good times and bad.
I am thankful for the (too many to count) students who touched my life while I was teaching and gave me a reason to smile each day! I am also thankful for the students I continue to tutor and the joy they bring in retirement.
I am thankful for just celebrating another birthday, as every day really is a gift.
— Marilyn Taaffe-Paez, Frankfort
My son’s well-being
I am thankful this year our only son is thriving in his first year of college. It was a leap of faith, dropping him off 1,750 miles away at a small college in the northwest part of the country.
By all accounts, he is doing well. His midterm grades were good, and he’s making friends and is doing well on a Division 1 sports team. We FaceTime with him once a week, and he seems happy. We ask him to tell us not just the good stuff but also anything bad. So far, nothing bad. While we take that with a grain of salt, it does seem like he is doing well, and that makes me feel good.
Not only good about him, but I feel maybe some of the parenting we did paid off.
— Andy Olcott, Glenview
What my parents taught
I’m 85 years old, past the racetrack’s last turn and charging for the finish line. I’m no different from most people in that position who reflect on their lives’ joys and sorrows, their accomplishments and failures, their beloveds and their “I can take them or leave thems.”
As I’ve done so, it became clear that I have a great many things to be grateful for — a loving wife, daughter, and family and two wonderful, exciting careers that brought satisfaction and security. The list could go on.
But when it comes down to it, what I’m most grateful for is having the great fortune to have Martin and Theresa Foys as my parents. The children of immigrants, coming of age in the Great Depression, they didn’t have three full years of high school between them, yet working several jobs, they managed to raise four children, seeing to it that we were well educated (in my instance, well beyond my intelligence) and equipped with values and manners that would serve us well.
When it comes down to it, after considerable introspection, I’ve concluded that everything important that I learned about life was taught by Mom and Dad.
— Bob Foys, Chicago
A habitat to many
This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful that more monarch butterflies and rusty patched bumble bees visited my yard than ever. Over the years, I’ve planted milkweed, blazing star and other pollinator-friendly plants. Goldfinches sit on the echinacea seed pods, munching away at the seeds.
Now, my yard is a changed habitat and a small contribution to the natural world. I’m grateful.
— Linda Morton, Harvard
To the quietly helpful
In our current world of noise, noise, noise, this Thanksgiving season I am most thankful for all the folks who quietly go through their days helping others around them.
All the people who choose to help others. And, at the same time, who don’t block a sidewalk and do damage to public and private property. Who don’t need to have a social media moment to prove to the world what they are doing to lend a voice or a hand to another human being. Who don’t step on others’ right to go about their day.
I am so thankful for the people in our world who quietly work behind the scenes, doing the in-the-trenches work that others do not see or know is being done. All the folks who help out quietly, reaching out to those less fortunate, who do it strictly out of kindness and not for any attention.
To all those who help out quietly, we thank you, and we join you in your acts of kindness.
— Carol Hausmann, Tinley Park
The people in my life
I’m most thankful for my family, friends and good neighbors, that I can take care of myself and that recently I tamed my chocolate habit.
— Alice Marcus Solovy, Highland Park
Music and memories
In 2006, I was invited to a one-time event to sing Johnny Cash with a cast of locals. The one-time event has turned into close to 20 years of making music and memories locally, across the U.S. and several times in Ireland, as the Ken Dix Band, KDB for short.
I feel like Joe, Ken, Pat, Tim, Peter, Mike, John and Lorelei are more than friends. They are family. The lesson? When strange opportunities present themselves, say yes, as you never know where the decision will take you.
Thanks, KDB! Rock on!
— Todd Nuelle, Mount Prospect
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/26/letters-112625-thankful-kindness/
