A Time for Thanks

When I was a teacher, coach, and assistant principal at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, I had the privilege of working with a social studies teacher and football coach, Hall of Famer Dave Driscoll, who would be charged with concluding our annual Thanksgiving pep rally with a rousing cheer for our school, reminding everyone that Thanksgiving is the "best day of the year." There were many reasons why I agreed with his sentiments - be it the football, the food, or the family, there were so many aspects of the day that resonated personally with many of us in the room (for some of us, it was all three).

Thanksgiving has always been about family and gratitude to me - even in the days when I was a small kid being hauled off to the Malden-Medford football game, rooting against the Mustangs as a tiny Golden Tornado, wearing our gold and blue, and then heading home for a great meal, time with the family, and, of course, a nap. Not much changed for most of us in the stands, and these were traditions that united generations, whether it was my late grandfather telling his annual story of getting into the Thanksgiving game between Chelsea and Everett in 1943 and promptly fumbling a kickoff, to the shoulder-to-shoulder packing of the stands to accommodate thousands at Pearl Street or Hormel Stadium in what always seemed to be the coldest day of the season. People walked around wishing each other a "Happy Thanksgiving," and, inevitably, people would share stories of their families, happy times over the past year, and what was happening at college, for those more recent alumni. Those who weren't at a game were home or traveling to family - there was a connectedness of family that seemed to transcend the result. In fact, though I went to every game for about 20 years, I can barely remember who won most of them.

As I've gotten older, and my tradition has moved from the gold and blue of MHS to green and gold to blue and white and now to black and orange, the themes of the day have not changed, nor has the message of gratitude escaped me.

We spend a lot of time at UHS asking of our students, our staff, our parents, and our community. We try to extend our appreciation in different ways, knowing full well that whenever the next time for a request comes up, people step up. In times of need, people help each other out - it's just what we do and how we do. We use words like "thank you" an awful lot, and we use them as words not just to say, but as part of the fiber of our core values.

So as we face successes and victories, uncertainty and disagreement, I am thankful for the conversations, the dialogue, and the open-mindedness with which most people approach our unique circumstances. I am appreciative of a hard-working, committed, and genuine faculty and staff that focuses daily on the best interests of students;  administrator colleagues who help guide through challenges and provide regular counsel through the not-so-easy times; the students and parents who push me to act in the best interests of school and community every single day - even when they don't necessarily think that is the goal and when things seem to be running counter to their individual wants; and, finally, a family that tolerates the long hours of the schedule that we put in to make sure that UHS runs smoothly and that the ship is always on course.

From our entire UHS family, we wish everyone a happy, healthy Thanksgiving holiday. May we all reflect with gratitude on the opportunities we have behind us, within us, and before us.