I am thankful for….
We are all lucky to live or maybe just have spent time in Leelanau. We know this is a magical place, with many amazing places, people, and things to do. On this eve of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you some of the things in Leelanau and my life, in which I am thankful.
I am thankful for all of the Leelanau county schools! Last night, as I watched my Northport Pubilc School 6th grader proudly accept his first sports award, I realized how glad that I am that he attends a small community school. Our Leelanau kids are excelling in sports, achieving academically, and making a difference in our communities. If it takes a village to raise a child, then we should all be thankful for these wonderful teachers, coaches, and staff, that spend so much time with our children.
I am thankful that fast food in Leelanau means waiting fifteen minutes at the Cheese Shanty. Or gathering around the yellow caboose in Northport, known as the Bayside Grill. I am thankful for fast food like “Dinners to Go” from Silvertree Deli, and steaming hot soup from the Merc. I am thankful for the owners and employees of these establishments that not only provide delicious meals, but wonderful service that make us keep coming back for more.
I am thankful for the wonderful people in Leelanau, who truly care, and are making a difference in our communities. The Northport Promise Committee has provided many scholarship dollars to our children. The Leland Community Cultural Center and the Old Art Building provides a wonderful venue to help support not only local artists, but to build community involvement with their many classes and activities. Inland Seas Education Association gives a unique opportunity for all of us to learn more about water and the Great Lakes.
Of all the things that I am grateful for in Leelanau, one thing stands above them all. What else, but Lake Michigan! I am thankful for the hours that I have spent swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, on the lake. The memories with friends and family are priceless. Whether your family has been here for centuries, or you have only visited Leelanau once, Lake Michigan is what keeps us connected to Leelanau.
Last, but certainly not least, on behalf of the Leelanau Communications staff, I want to say that we are thankful to YOU. Thank you for visiting leelanau.com! Thank you for reading our daily blogs! Thank you for supporting our local businesses! Thank you for being a part of our community!
Now we want to hear, what makes you thankful! Please use the comment area to tell us.
Happy Thanksgiving from Leelanau Communications!
Photo: 24.30 ~ re-Connecting with Old Friends by *ojoyous1*
This photo is part of *ojoyous1*’s gratitude set on flickr, and one of the reasons why I chose it for today. I am thankful to her, and all the photographers that submit their photos to the Leelanau (dot com) flickr pool.
Laura has eloquently expressed how many of us feel about that magical little finger that pokes its way into my favorite Great Lake — Lake Michigan. Thank you so much for taking the time to put many of our feelings into words.
I am thankful for my grandfather, a plumber by trade, a true blue collar worker, who bought 80 acres of bliss from his uncle for a dollar in the glorious county of Leelanau many decades ago. A man who only had a week of vacation a year, yet spent that week in Leelanau, on his hard-worked for land, improving it with the dream that one day he would retire there and share it with his children, and his children’s children. He did retire, yet only to have lung cancer steal his dream from him in 1989, on this very date. November 29, 1989. And yet this dream lives on in all of us who call you Grandpa, for you gave this blessed land to all of us, your children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. I miss you grandpa, dearly, but I love you forever for what you have given all of us. A true Heaven on earth, a place of dreams, a land that drifts sweetly into my dreams, and calms me admist the uncertainty of life. A land that has forever touched me and altered me, a land that calls me to belong to it. Thank you Grandpa: I miss you, I love you, and I will always thank you.