What Are You Thankful for This Year?

What are you thankful for this year?

That’s what we asked PMG employees, in honor of Thanksgiving. We wanted to understand what they are most thankful for even after all that happened in 2020. You might notice some themes here. I’m thankful I get to share them with you.

I’m thankful for…

• “Good family, good friends, good health, and a great employer!”
• “Now more than ever, I am SO thankful for my job. If I was still working in the restaurant business, my life would be a lot different. My employment would never feel steady.”
• “Really good teachers who have figured out how to engage my kids, have given them individual attention, and have gotten them excited about school through distance learning.”
• “Streaming services that give me any movie, show, or clip at my fingertips, on demand.”
• “The health of our family and being able to go on two vacations as a family!”
• “Having a job.”
• “The brave people who fight at the battle lines: whether that be our military who defend our country each and every day of every year, or the doctors, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, and EMT’s who maybe didn’t sign up for a global pandemic but have continued to put their own lives on the line to adhere to the promises they made when they entered their professions.”
• “I know that it’s crazy to say, and may even disrespectful to those who have lost family members because of this virus, but I am thankful for COVID. COVID forced me home, forced me to work remote. It allowed me the chance to visit my grandparents for a full week – good, hardworking people who got to see what I do for a living. I cherish this week I spent with them because a week after I came back home, my grandpa was admitted to the hospital, and sadly, passed away last week. My grandparents worked hard so they could provide good values and virtues for their children and grandchildren and I am forever lucky to have them as my grandparents.”
• “All the big things; my health, my family, my friends, my coworkers and career, etc. like everyone. But I just want to say I’m also very thankful for clever Internet memes. Closet-heroes of COVID.”
• “All my friends and family are healthy during this time.”
• “Weekends! A time to decompress and spend some quality time with friends and family.”
• “The people in my life who have really shown to be a resource in trying times, who are empathetic and sympathetic, who build me & encourage me, and remind me of just how lucky I am to have the people I have in my life.”
• “Small things that inspire: like Christmas music, sending a note to brighten someone’s day, or a simple act of kindness like lending a helping hand.”
• “Living out a lifelong dream of living in a warmer climate and for a company that helped that dream come true.”
• “Mindfulness podcasts, books, and other resources.”
• “Not many military wives get the opportunity to continue their careers while moving around so much. Having a company that supports me and the military is so important! Working for PMG is without a doubt what I am most thankful for this year.”
• “My family, friends, health, and especially a new Grandbaby. My job and co-workers! Oh, and especially a new Grandbaby!”
• “Home.”
• “Adoption. Exactly one year ago today, I watched my dad take his last breath. He was my adoptive dad but that doesn’t matter, he was my dad. My step-son was adopted as well and he brings me such joy. We have become buddies as we travel the states in search of Pokémon, watch Korean horror movies together (he claims that it’s reading time because he has to read the subtitles), engage in Nerf gun wars, and plan grand adventures, even if it’s just down to the laundry room. Even though adoption can be painful at times, the blessings are abundant.”
• “The people working tirelessly to find a cure for COVID-19.”
• “I’m thankful that neither myself or anyone in my immediate family has contracted COVID-19.”
• “I have so much to be thankful for despite the challenges each of us have faced this year. I am thankful for my job because it gives me and my family the stability that we have needed and has enabled us to purchase our first home, my wife and family, and the health that each one of us have been blessed with.”
• “Being employed with a great compensation and opportunities.”
• “I’m thankful my health is good enough to perform acceptably for PMG clients so I can set up my more and more imminent retirement.”

So much thankfulness. I couldn’t leave anyone out. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

I want to end with a response from PMG’s president. It seems fitting for so many of us.

Silver Linings

• “It has been an insane year. We faced challenges I never expected. We adjusted to changes that haven’t necessarily been comfortable or ideal. We’ve had more loss than usual this year, and have felt our losses, both small and large, more deeply that we have in the past. We’ve lived with a level of fear and uncertainty over the past 9 months that wears on us after time. Despite all that, this year I have found some silver linings that I’m thankful for.”
• “At work, I’m thankful for the silver lining of learning that the team of people I work with, who I thought were pretty amazing going already, are stronger and together can accomplish more than my already high beliefs of what we could accomplish were.”
• “At home, I’m thankful for the silver linings of a slower pace with less planned activities, more time to just be home together, and using our creativity more than we ever have in the past to entertain ourselves and connect with those we love in new ways.”
• “I am also thankful for the silver lining of knowing that life as we know it can change at any minute, and that we are resilient and will find ways to grow in new and good ways, including loud, crazy Zoom family Thanksgiving get togethers where we will share our thanks virtually until we can all gather in person again.”

I hope that each of you is able to find the silver linings in your world, and reflect on all that you’re thankful for this year. Remember though – Thanksgiving isn’t the only time to be thankful. Start a gratitude journal for all the days. Gratitude Journals are good all year round!

Many thanks to you!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Beth Bangtson, Human Resources Manager