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Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

Thanksgiving in 2020 might look a little different for your family, just like it does for mine. Many families are choosing smaller gatherings or connecting with family and friends virtually to protect vulnerable family members. This year has been hard - for our families, our health, our communities, and our economy. It is easy to be grateful in good times, but gratitude shows its true power when we are thankful even in tough seasons. 

I am grateful this year for the love and support of my family and friends. I am grateful for the countless medical professionals who are working around the clock in full protective equipment to keep us healthy. I am grateful for the innovations and technology that have kept our nation connected this year even while we're apart. I am grateful for the sacrifices of our military and their families as well as our law enforcement community who are serving today so we can be safe. I am grateful for teachers who innovate and serve our kids, electric company linemen who turn on the lights during incredibly dangerous conditions, and neighbors that say hello from a safe distance as I walk around my neighborhood. I am grateful that we are still striving for a more perfect union. 

I am grateful for the essential personnel who have kept our nation functioning and who have continued to address our needs. I am grateful for the scientists that have worked around the clock this year to create amazing advancements to test and treat COVID-19 and will hopefully soon provide a vaccine. I am continually grateful to live in the greatest nation on earth where I am free to speak my views and live my faith peacefully alongside fellow Oklahomans who agree or sometimes disagree with my faith or my views. I am grateful to God for providing the calm in my storms each day. 

I am grateful. 

When everyone else is griping and complaining, people who are grateful provide encouragement and light to the people around them. I hope you can be that encouragement to your family this Thanksgiving. I pray you and your family are able to rest and enjoy time for reflection and planning for our future when the pandemic and its impact are finally over. 

Check on family members who are very isolated this year. They need to hear your message of hope. As we gather physically or virtually next week, I pray we take time to be grateful. From my family to yours, happy Thanksgiving.