Randomly Tonia

Though we should express gratitude as often as we feel grateful, this is the time of year that we focus on thanksgiving – not the holiday, but the action.

Each year, as my family and friends gather, I experience awe at those around me and how grateful I am to have them in my life. As we eat, drink and chat I realize how much each one of them mean to me. Whether I see them daily or rarely, I appreciate all of my friends and family and am blessed for the time we get together.

This year, recently, I have been thinking of even more for which I am grateful, because this year is my last living here in Kimball.

I have taken a position at a newspaper near Omaha and at the end of this month I am moving east to be closer to my grandson, Gus, and his parents.

I’m excited for this adventure but there is so much I will miss – all the people, events and customs for which I am thankful and have grown to love.

I am grateful to have grown up here, in a small town in rural Nebraska and I am equally grateful for the years I spent traveling to other communities, large and small.

Something I learned here at home that is not as prevalent elsewhere: helping others with the little things and the big.

Kimball is where, as a child, I learned to help someone carry their groceries to their car and I have seen the community come together to help struggling families with groceries for the holidays.

Kimball is where I came when our baby needed serious medical care and we needed a serious support system. Brody, now an adult, got the lifesaving care he needed and we got the support we needed, right here at home.

Kimball is where I began working in an unfamiliar field nearly a decade ago. I was so thankful for the opportunity to learn but I was also a nervous mess – the one thing I could not imagine was screwing up at The Observer.

This is the oldest business in the community, with the exception of some family farms and ranches, and a well-respected business at that. It was a big responsibility in my mind, one that I have taken very seriously.

Though I have made mistakes, I have been blessed to learn in a community that gives me a chance to make things right. I’m grateful for the amazing and talented people I’ve worked with and I give humble thanks to everyone who supports our team each week.

Kimball is my hometown. It is a community full of kind and caring individuals that I will miss greatly, but because I grew up here, I will know how to find them in my new home and for that, I say “Thank You.”