If you’re under the age of 50, you probably don’t remember the way Thanksgiving Day used to be. With the rare exception of a Mini Mart (back then usually 7-11), there were no services available. No groceries, gas, or restaurants (though Chinese restaurants were often open if you had one in your town as told in my favorite Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story“). The cities and towns looked deserted, and even the freeway traffic was light. Granted, that was my experience here near Seattle, but I’ve been told that’s very common.
While many would say that people need to be home for Thanksgiving instead of working, I think there is a happy medium and a shut-it-all-down mentality would put us back into the 70’s when if you had no family, were lonely or ill, or didn’t celebrate the holiday, there wasn’t anything available until the next day.
As a city worker, I often volunteered to work the holiday when my husband had to work. That meant we could have a day off before or after when we could celebrate. Having options like that feels more employee-friendly than forcing people to take a particular day off because there are many families whose loved ones have to work Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Heroes Are All Around Us
As someone who spent Veteran’s Day in an Emergency Room, I can tell you that nurses, doctors, security personnel, administrative assistants, cleaning people, and more were on duty. Each was quietly working to make so many other patients and me better on a day when most people were at home enjoying their families.
Gratefully, the pharmacy techs and cashiers were working when I stopped to get my much-needed pain meds, and the restaurant servers and cooks were working and provided me with my first food in hours, and for that, I was thankful
My Thanksgiving Hero
My Thanksgiving Hero is my husband. In his 34+ years in the fire service, he’s never taken a holiday off so that others with children below him in seniority can. Our children, now adults, work in public service jobs as well, so we rarely have a traditional Thanksgiving. One is a Customer Service Agent for a local airline, the other a State Park Ranger. Holiday or not, airlines are flying passengers, campers still need services, and emergency service personnel still need to respond to emergencies.
I hope that on Thanksgiving, you’ll acknowledge and thank anyone for working that day that you encounter. They work on holidays like Thanksgiving, during inclement weather, and all the other times when we’re safe and warm at home with our families while they’re out keeping the world running for us.
There are so many people who don’t get days off for holidays. Retail workers, hostpital and saftey workers, municipal employees, toll collectors, and so many others will have to enjoy time with their families on off hours for the holiday.
Exactly, and that’s why we want to take a moment to recognize them all. My husband and two sons work the holiday – one is a park ranger, the other a customer service agent for an airline, an my husband the firefighter. We’re used to being apart for the holidays as well as other important milestones. It’s part of the lifestyle we chose.
There are so many heroes in the world. It is hard for me to narrow it down to one. I love this program. It is so important to recognize those that make a difference in the world.
It wars my heart to stop and consider how many people I know that coud be classified as a hero. Got to head to the Facebook page to complete my nomination.
Please do nominate someone – it helps others see who’s out there making the holiday possible for them.
That’s great that they give you a link to share with family and friends. I can think of a few Thanksgiving heroes. 🙂
Such a great way to give back. I know so many who could qualify, there’s so many deserving heroes among us!
How to pick just one person that is worthy of nomination when there are so many that are deserving? Love this Thanksgiving heros promotion.
First responders and medical personal are true heroes. Not just on the holidays, but year-round. Thanks for the reminder to celebrate them.
This is an awesome way to give thanks to your heroes. There are a lot of hardworking people out there who could use that boost!
I love this! There are so many awesome examples all around us. My mom is the perfect example of Thanksgiving service.
Your mom must be an exceptional person. Thank her for me.
I would nominate a good friend that is a police officer. He puts up with a lot and works tons of crazy hours.
This is such a great campaign! There are so many people who work through the holidays that deserve more recognition!
I agree! I think we automatically think of fire and police, but there are so many more.
What a cool idea to honor the people who serve us so well! Firemen have a special place in my heart because my grandfather was a Philadelphia fire-fighter.
Ah, as my husband would say, he was a REAL fireman then! My hubby give huge kudos to the firefighters back there and the types of buildings they have to fight fires in.
There are so many people in my everyday life who deserve a shout out of thanks. If I had to nominate someone, it would be the children’s crossing guard. She is out there no matter what the weather making sure the kids are safe getting to and from school!
I don’t have one hero to nominate, but I am very thankful for all our first responders in my area. We personally know the firemen down the street!
My son in law works on Thanksgiving because he works at a hospital. So many people there do not get the day off!
There are so many people that deserve to be nominated. What a great campaign.
I love this! Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what we’re blessed with and that includes the everyday heroes all around us.
thanks for sharing!