Thankful for Such a Supportive Community in St. Michael, Albertville and Beyond

I'm going to get mushy here for a bit, so bear with me. 

It was just a few short weeks ago that I was given a second chance to lead St. Michael Patch, and accepted graciously with a smile the opportunity to "come home." 

Since then, we've lost some friends along the way (two of them far too soon) and made some knew ones. I've torn my Achilles and seen the support of literally dozens of friends. And we're now on the precipice of a great new year. 

I'm incredibly thankful to live and work in this wonderful community. 

Where else would families and friends brave double-digit winds and freezing temps to play kickball on frozen ground in order to raise money for another family? 

Where, I ask, would middle-schoolers, the most self-centered of all school-aged kids, send flowers and cards and gifts to a kid they hardly know, and wrap their arms around a family grieving? 

Where else to we continue to run 3.2 miles every year for a teacher lost in a senseless tragedy? 

I'm thankful for our sense of faith, which is at the common core of St. Michael and Albertville. While most of us are Catholic, we join in solemn prayer with those who worship in other ways in our community, and support ideas for new houses of prayer. 

We support "life cycle housing," a new concept that keeps our seniors and elders and all the amazing resources and wisdom they hold here in our community, through the expansion of one existing senior community in St. Michael and the addition of a completely new community in Albertville. 

We help our leaders, and they help us, pushing for new ways of transportation and communication and the means to support local businesses. 

We have remarkable men and women who boldly take on new adventures to help serve both the public and our children, from books to keep us healthy to indoor facilities we've always hoped for but never thought we might get. 

We have much to be thankful for here on the northwestern front of the Twin Cities. 

I hope you enjoy this weekend with all of that in mind.

Happy Thanksgiving from us at Patch.