As we gather with family and friends to celebrate what has become my favorite holiday, it seems a fitting time to reflect.

Thanksgiving gives us a chance to set down our phones, slow our turbocharged lifestyles, and ponder the meaningful people and events of the past year.

So, dear reader, what are you thankful for in the last months of 2018? Here is part of my list.

First of all, thanks to friends and family. Yes, it does take a village, and our hometowns are peopled with hundreds of volunteers and relatives who spend countless hours helping others. A big thank you to all.

Second, whether your candidate won or lost, I am sure everyone is thankful that the election is over. For the last months, we have been deluged by advertising designed not to inform us about a candidate and his/her positions on the issues of the day. Instead, they are carefully designed to demonize a group of perfectly fine, civic-minded citizens who happen to be running against the candidate who paid for the ads.

In case you didn’t notice, this is not your grandpa’s politics anymore. The terms Republican and Democrat used to stand for principles. Not any more.

Instead, they are convenient labels used by special interests to advance their agenda by bombarding us with gaggles and gobs of TV and Internet ads.

It seems that money may trump (sorry) principle. One candidate for governor celebrated his victory as we noted he spent more than $170 million of his own money to purchase his office.

Does this mean ordinary citizens, like our two fine legislative candidates, Holly Stover and Stephanie Hawke, will no longer have a chance to seek political office? Does the future hold that great personal wealth, or the ability to gather wealth, is the only path to elective office? Is this the end of government by the people?

As I said, I am thankful the election is over. I’ll bet the winners and losers are glad too.

Also, both Stover, who won, and Hawke, who lost, showed a lot of class after the race. Well done to both.

Third on my thank you list are the neighbors who once wore our nation’s uniform. Our community lost more than 60 veterans this year on top of the 50 who died in 2017.

I urge you to sit down with your veteran friends and listen to their stories, which will provide you with a sense of their sacrifice. Our thanks to them all.

Here in our community, many attended recent events celebrating our veterans. We were pleased to applaud the vets who toured the nation’s capital and the beautiful monuments commemorating their military service. A pat on the back to the Honor Flight program and the folks who raise funds to pay the bill.

But, as the honor flight veterans viewed the shining marble structures, there was little mention of the most significant veteran's monument of all, the GI bill. By funding the college education of an entire generation, our leaders rewarded those who served and changed our nation as well.

Back home, I am thankful that the road construction project in Boothbay Center is finished and seems to be working. It looks like the highway engineers did know what they were proposing. The big test will come in the weeks to come when thousands of visitors pass through the roundabout on their way to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

I am also thankful our elected officials and professional educators are tackling the biggest challenge facing our towns: What do we do with our schools? We have old buildings designed for twice as many students as we have in attendance. Do we renovate the buildings? Do we build new? Do we change the system to attract additional students? What will be the cost?

Our towns are changing. We love the idea of living in a picturesque New England fishing community, but few want to go back to outdoor plumbing and fish processing factories.

I am thankful we are facing change and trying to figure out ways to manage it. Thanks to all our officials and interested citizens on all sides who are passionate about the process. With your hard work, we will surely find a solution.

Finally, I am thankful for the folks who support local journalism like the Boothbay Register and the Wiscasset Newspaper. Other news outlets never seem to care about our communities, unless they burn down or some nut job does something really stupid.

Week after week, it is your support that allows us to report local news, promote events, sell your wares and, best of all, tell the story of us all.

Happy Thanksgiving.