Time was when “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go …” meant the world came to a screeching halt on Thanksgiving Day. Everything that could possibly close did so. Everyone who could possibly stay home did so, too.

That’s the way time was. A time when tiny hamlets around our land pulled their worlds in around them and folks gathered ’round hearths with family members and friends, something of a Norman Rockwellian picture of the holiday the way we would like for it to be.

Perhaps in some places it’s still like that. Maybe some families are still able to make it a point to come together, eat, enjoy one another’s company and spend the day without shopping — maybe even without football!

Why not spend this Thanksgiving rejoicing in something we have rather than lamenting what’s missing?

That exercise might yield different results for each person, even if the times — your times — seem dark or short on hope. Thanksgiving is about, as overworked as it might seem, giving thanks for the things we have, even the tiniest of things.

Are you in passable health? Be thankful.

Got enough to eat? There are plenty who don’t. Give yourself the blessing of a warm heart and them a full stomach by making a donation to Christian Outreach Program.

Do you have a place to live? More and more don’t each and every day. Ponder it for a moment.

Sure, stores are opening earlier, sales are starting sooner, people will be lining up for the bargains while the turkey leftovers are still on the table. But don’t let that be an excuse for not celebrating Thanksgiving for its true purpose: gratitude for your many blessings.