I give thanks for family, friends, our church family, colleagues, classroom volunteers, and a great group of 5 and 6 year olds who keep me younger each day than I sometimes feel.

I am thankful for the deer on Church Street that make me slow down and remember a much simpler time when children walked barefooted down that long, dusty road and pulled crabapples off the tree in Molly Hall’s yard.

I am blessed to view the world anew through the eyes of my grandson, Grayson, age three. He will tell you that he lives in Norfolk, Poppa and Grandmama live in Mathews, and Uncle Scott lives at the washing machine. What a perfect name for our nation’s capital! Of course, a machine has not been made that has a load capacity big enough or a detergent made that is strong enough to clean the mud that has been slung or the dirty politics that take place there. I am thankful for those politicians who run for office and keep their moral fibers about them.

Gra...