[Editor's Note: The columnist apologizes for being a day late.)

Please share with those around you why you are grateful to them.

I ceased giving advice long ago and don't tell jokes or share weepy stories. What I can do is share my experiences, strength, and hope with you.

Whether your family and friends gather around a table of turkey and gravy, potatoes, yams, beans, cranberries, pumpkin pie, or your family's traditional food from the old country, for us, it is a Ukrainian (Marion's family is Ukrainian) meal of borscht, deruni, varensky, and nalesniki. However, as good as the food is, it should always be second to the people around it.

With Americans as divided as they are today, I cannot imagine how the New Americans and the Native Americans came together for the first Thanksgiving. Both were so different, and yet they broke bread together. They celebrated the harvest, prepared for the upcoming winter, and strengthened relationships.

Since Ex-Democrat / Now Republican Donald Trump became President in 2016, family gatherings have become more contentious. It may start with, "How could you not vote my way and not support my candidate?"

However, the question is not intended to build understanding but as a judgment of the other person.

We may believe that America has never been as divided as it is today. But that is not true. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson worked together before, during, and after the fight for Independence but became bitter enemies during the years after America's Independence. It was not until the last years of their lives that they became fellow patriots again.

Those who believe a foreign threat or Washington politicians can unite us are sadly mistaken; one seeks to destroy us, and the other to divide us. Uniting Americans begins with simple family gatherings, such as Thanksgiving today, where we seek to understand each other. Whether it is past family tragedies that have never been addressed, differences in how we worship God, what team we root for, or what political party we support. We must remember we are one family, one people, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.

Before you pray over the Thanksgiving meal, take a moment to share with those around you. What you are thankful for, who you are grateful for? 

I wish you and your family the warmest of wishes this Thanksgiving.

Sincerely, Mick Rich