As I have done over the past few years, I reached out to my Facebook friends and others and asked them what they were grateful for this year. This year, I also asked them what their hopes were for the year ahead.
I’m always impressed by the number of people who respond and how thoughtful they are about this exercise.
However, this year was different, or rather the reaction was different. I heard from dozens of you. Some of them said they didn’t want to print the answers, but wanted to share the all-too-frequent stories, some of them heartbreaking, of a year in 2024 that was extremely difficult, both physically and mentally. It also included people.
Of course, there were many voices of gratitude to family and friends. There was also a plea that, after years of discord, it was time for healing to find a world where “compassion is contagious,” as Chariho Area School District Superintendent Gina Pickard wrote.
Others were hopeful that newly elected city and town officials would overcome the acrimony that may have plagued previous town councils.
There are too many answers to print them all, but here are a few.
Zai Kamsiboravong, Newport City Council
I am grateful to my family and friends.
I am excited for our community and the progress we can make in housing and education in 2025.
Danny Gold, former IBM executive
As a senior citizen, I am grateful to be alive and relatively healthy. I am also grateful to have such wonderful, caring, and supportive extended family, relatives, and friends.
And I hope that this country will survive the new government and the terrible trend of authoritarian rule and concentration on the wealthy.
Thomas Null, Western Resident
I am grateful for many things. I’m grateful to be back from Vietnam, grateful for my family, and grateful for the great success Amanda’s Deli has had for 10 years.
My hope is that this new town council will figure things out, get along, and make Westerleigh a great town.
Hank Randall, photographer
I am grateful for the family and friends who are still with me and the memories of those who are no longer with me. They still make me laugh, just a little further away.
Jerry Goldstein, former Providence Journal reporter and editor, WUN contributor
As I look forward to next spring and my 85th birthday, I am grateful that I can’t think of anything on earth that I want that I don’t already have. Perhaps this is because I am trying to follow the philosophy of my late mother, who always said, “If you think the glass is half empty, get a smaller glass.” Maybe my desires become simpler as I get older, and I’m grateful that I can continue to do so.
Betty Thayer Cotter, former editor-in-chief of The Independent Newspapers
I am grateful to be able to teach such wonderful students at URI. They’re going to have difficult conversations. They are far from homogeneous politically, but they respect each other. They give me hope for the future.
Peter Cardy, co-owner of Cardy’s Furniture
We are grateful for God’s gift of one more day to help us continue…and we hope for more of the same in 2025.
Paul Cappola, perfusionist
My wonderful wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I are looking forward to seeing lots of family and friends over the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays. From 2025 onwards, I look forward to innovative medical discoveries for the treatment of diseases through the development of artificial intelligence. Time will tell. Part of Dr. PJ’s Friday Law is, “….the only thing that lasts forever…is now.”
Gina M. Pickard, Chariho Area Schools Superintendent
We hope to see a ripple effect of kindness. Embracing positivity and compassion has been a guiding principle for me both personally and professionally. Although we cannot control the actions of others, I strongly believe that by choosing how to respond with patience, empathy, and understanding, we can encourage others to follow suit. My hope is for a world where compassion is contagious, small acts of kindness bring us together, and where we take the time to recognize and appreciate the good in each other.
Thomas DiPaola, RI Directors Association Executive Director
What I wanted to say is that last year and the year before that made me more aware of how fragile life experiences are for me. I am especially grateful to those people and those who have shown me who they are and their actions. Far beyond saying words, we made important choices to act in unselfish and supportive ways.
My wish is to someday be able to send money to people in need.
Dr. Richard Solomon, Director of Delta Consultants and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at URI
I love this exercise. It forces you to introspect and look forward positively.
I am grateful for the health of those around me, including my family, friends, and colleagues.
I am grateful for the wonderful family relationships and fun activities throughout the year.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated colleagues across a variety of professions. It definitely keeps me energized and able to focus on my clinical and consulting work.
I am grateful that life has given me the opportunity to pursue this profession (clinical child psychology) and that I have been able to help many families and schools over the years.
I’m thankful that both the Bruins and Maple Leafs lost (I hate them both…so much)!
Alan Petert
On Thanksgiving 2024, I am most grateful that my three children (ages 24 to 38) are good people, successful, and independent. None of us are perfect, but we’re all striving to be better. Personally, I am grateful that 2024 allowed me to be more accepting of loss. I miss my wife, brother, parents, in-laws, and a few good friends. I miss them so much because they were my support system. But even though they are gone, I know and understand that I was very lucky to have them in my life. They shaped me. I am not shaping myself. They have had my back through the good times, the bad times and the really bad times. There are no words of gratitude enough to express my love for them. This realization was a huge breakthrough for me and I am very grateful. I am also grateful for my relationship with God.
I hope that in 2025, we will be more accepting and understanding of people with different perspectives, viewpoints, and personalities. I expect to be more tolerant, even if I am diametrically opposed to most of their politics and opinions. I want to get past that and understand that even though we may be in the minority when it comes to certain social issues, we can at least respect our differences. This is not easy for me, but I hope it can be improved. If I don’t, I’ll end up being bitter and angry and it won’t solve anything. Hopefully, I can continue to “get it”.
Kathy Jellison, Gardener
There is much to be thankful for. It starts with a great family and good friends. I am also grateful for the beautiful garden of all-summer long flowers that continued to bloom until late October.
I hope that in the coming years there will be clarity on what needs to be done to improve the functioning of government. I know good people will show up! I hope those of us who identify as liberals or progressives can learn from the last election about how we need to move forward when it comes to marginalized people.
Len Handler, musician and composer
I am grateful that I am slowly learning to reluctantly accept my limitations.
Elliot Weiser
I’m grateful to Cousins for winning his fantasy baseball league, and I hope the Yankees fire Aaron Boone next year.